On Thursday, there were little changes in the S&P 500 after the volatile session as the investors are still spooked by the uncertainty due to international and domestic issues. Bids are being driven for defensive shares as financial and consumer discretionary stocks were the biggest drags.
The S&P is shifting between negative and positive territory as it failed to sustain the opening rally which was spurred by hopes for progress in the trade negotiations between U.S. and China. Beijing and Washington are contacting over trade as reported by a spokesman of the Chinese Commerce Ministry.
Omar Aguilar, who is the chief investment officer at Charles Schwab Investment Management, San Francisco, said,
It’s a market that’s been very nervous. Investors get excited in the morning and then their fears come back.
There are a lot of worries concerning the issue which were cited by Aguilar including hike in interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve, flattening of U.S. Treasury yield curve, the trade talks between U.S. and China and the uncertainty regarding Brexit and the monetary policy of the European Union. Aguilar added,
We need a catalyst to get us a more consistent trend. It could be good economic data or more clarity on the Fed’s intentions for next year or more certainty in U.S.-China trade. I don’t think it’s going to happen any time soon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up by 70.11 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.53 points. The Nasdaq Composite also dropped by 27.98 points.
The S&P 500 was up by 0.75% during its session high. The major stock indexes were unable to hold direction as trading has been a little choppy the entire week. The investors fear was further fueled as the U.S. Treasury curve if expected to invert in the coming year.
Source: Reuters and MSN
