The U.S. stock market rose to the positive territory Thursday after slumping in the red for three straight days. Amid the economic concerns that have ignited market fears in the beginning of the week, investors have begun betting on the U.S. Federal Reserve further cutting interest rates later in the month.
Here's how the U.S. stock markets closed Thursday:
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA): +0.48% or 123.98 points
S&P 500 Index (SPY): +0.81% or 23.25 points
NASDAQ Composite Index (QQQ): +1.12% or 87.02 points
The Institute of Supply Management's (ISM) non-manufacturing index was released Thursday, showing that an economic slowdown is now evident in the services sector. ISM's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to a reading of 53.6 for September, down from August's reading of 56.4. This reading holds above the neutral level of 50 that is required to demonstrate expansion, but determined that growth is moving at an undesirably slow pace.
"The non-manufacturing sector pulled back after reflecting strong growth in August. The respondents are mostly concerned about tariffs, labor resources, and the directions of the economy," ISM wrote in its report.
In stock sector news, all sectors saw positive growth Thursday. The largest gainers were energy with an increase of 1.26%; Information Technology climbed 1.24%, with Software and Services rising 1.24%; Real Estate jumped 1.18%; and Healthcare rose 0.93%.
In commodity news, U.S. oil futures dropped Thursday, which is the eighth straight day of decline. The decrease is heightening investment fears over the level of global demand lowering, which will lead to a continued decrease in price. Gold prices continue to rise amid global market uncertainty and the concern over the health of the economy.
The U.S. market may have broken its three day losing streak, but there is still growing concern of the overall health of the economy as more September data is released. Tomorrow's update will conclude the week of one of the worst October openings in a decade.
