Stocks slipped lower into negative territory on Thursday as investors digested minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy-setting meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the biggest loser, falling over 170 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq declined by 0.1% each.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Mortgage rates rise on tightening Fed policy:
Mortgage rates climbed to their highest level in more than a year and a half this week as the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting minutes cemented expectations for higher interest rates in the coming months.
The rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage, which is the most common home loan, jumped from 3.11% to 3.22%, according to Freddie Mac, with that being the highest level since May 2020. Moreover, the rate is more than a half-point higher than the 2.65% posted a year ago, which was an all-time low.
Jobless claims remain within pre-pandemic levels:
First-time unemployment filings were higher last week, but remained near a 52-week low as the labor market continues to recover from the pandemic's impact due to high employer demand.
Initial jobless claims totaled 207,000 from the week ended Jan. 1, according to the Labor Department's latest report. That figure was above the 195,000 expected by consensus economics and the week prior's upwardly revised print of 200,000, but still remained within the key 200,000 level most economists agree signals a healthy labor market.
Continuing jobless claims also ticked higher, totaling 1.754 million from the week ended Dec. 25, above the 1.678 expected and the previous week's revised total of 1.718 million.
Here's how market benchmarks started trading soon after market open:
S&P 500 Index: -0.04% or -1.77 points to 4,698.81
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.02% or -7.92 points to 36,399.19
Nasdaq Composite Index: -0.38% or -57.40 points to 15,042.77
