Nasdaq Composite Index: +0.29% or +45.00 points to 15,615.63
Stocks reversed their earlier course on Thursday and ultimately closed in negative territory as large tech names pulled the overall market lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq took the biggest hit, falling nearly 2.5%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 0.9% and 0.09%, respectively.
Tech names including Apple
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
IHS Markit manufacturing, services PMI tick down in early December:
U.S. services and manufacturing sector activity decelerated in early December, but remained in expansionary territory, according to IHS Markit's preliminary purchasing managers' index (PMI) readings for December published Thursday.
Preliminary manufacturing PMI came in at 57.8, which was below November's print of 58.3 and consensus economists expectations for a rise to 58.5. However, readings above the neutral level of 50.0 indicate expansion in a sector.
Meanwhile, preliminary services PMI also decelerated to 57.5 in December, down from November's print of 58.0 and expectations for a rise to 58.8.
"Inflationary pressures continued to mount, with firms facing ever increasing input prices," IHS Markit wrote in a press statement. "The pace of cost inflation accelerated again to reach a fresh series record."
"Companies reported broad-based upticks in cost burdens, with a range of key materials noted higher in prie, alongside soaring transportation and distribution fees," the release added. "With the exception of rates seen in October and November, the latest uptick in selling prices was nevertheless the fastest on record (since October 2009)."
Housing starts post higher-than-expected rate gains in November:
New U.S. homebuilding increased at a faster-than-expected rate in November after falling in October, according to the Commerce Department's report published on Thursday.
Housing states rose 11.8% on a month-over-month basis in November, according to the report, bringing starts up to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.679 million, which is an eight month high. Back in October, housing starts fell by a downwardly revised rate of 3.1%.
Building permits, which are used to indicate future homebuilding demand, also rose at a higher-than-expected rate in November, increasing by 3.6%.
Jobless remain at pre-pandemic levels last week:
New jobless claims rose from the previous week's near multi-decade low but continued to remain below the overall highs seen throughout the pandemic and within pre-pandemic averages as the labor market responds to ongoing worker shortages.
Initial unemployment claims totaled 206,000 for the week ended Dec. 11, according to the Labor Department's report published Thursday. That total was slightly above consensus expectations and the previous week's upwardly revised print of 188,000, which was the lowest figure for weekly jobless claims since Sept. 1969.
Continuing jobless claims, however, continued to decline, falling both below expectations and the previous week's total at 1.845 million for the week ended Dec. 4.
Here's how market benchmarks started trading soon after open:
S&P 500 Index: +0.37% or +17.38 points to 4,727.23
Dow Jones Industrial Average: +0.45% or +161.78 points to 36,089.21
