Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guidance and tools
Guidance and tools
Choosing investments Choosing accounts ISA calculator Retirement calculators
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks IPOs and placings
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
US close: Stocks rise ahead of Thanksgiving holiday
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street finished with gains on Wednesday, driven by the release of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting minutes overnight, which indicated a cautious approach to interest rate cuts. Investors also considered fresh economic data, including jobless claims and consumer sentiment figures, in anticipation of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a 0.53% increase, reaching 35,273.03 points.
Similarly, the S&P 500 saw a 0.41% rise, closing at 4,556.62 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.46%, finishing the day at 14,265.86 points.
In the currency market, the dollar was last up 0.01% on both sterling and the euro, trading at 80.05p and 91.85 euro cents, respectively.
Conversely, the greenback decreased 0.04% against the yen to change hands at JPY 149.48.
"Historically, US stocks tend to do well in the run-up to Thanksgiving, and this upward bias continues to exhibit itself despite the huge gains made over the past month," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
"Traders on Wall Street can skip off to their turkey and pumpkin pie with satisfaction, having restored the bullish trend of the half of the year, exemplified by the Nasdaq 100 hitting its highest level since January 2022.
"While the Fed minutes did not deliver any reasons to hope for early rate cuts, investors can be thankful that no more rate hikes appear likely."
Job market shows unexpected strength, consumer confidence dips
In economic news, the US job market displayed unexpected strength last week.
According to the Department of Labor's latest report, when adjusted for seasonal factors, initial unemployment claims saw a notable decline of 24,000 during the week ended 18 November, reaching a total of 209,000.
That figure defied consensus expectations, which had projected 226,000 initial claims.
Furthermore, the four-week moving average decreased by 750, settling at 220,000.
In addition to the positive trend, secondary unemployment claims, representing those not filing for the first time and referencing the week ended 11 November, dropped by 22,000, with approximately 1.84 million such claims.
"One undershoot is not enough to determine if the rising trend in claims is starting to flatten," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
"That said, leading indicators suggest claims will level off again soon.
"Layoff announcements and WARN notices - the best near-term leading indicators of jobless claims - have risen from their summer lows, but aren't clearly trending higher."
Contrasting that improvement in the job market, Americans' overall confidence in the economy saw a dip in November, though there was a silver lining in their sentiments regarding personal finances.
According to a highly-watched survey by the University of Michigan, the consumer confidence index slipped from October's reading of 63.8 to 61.3.
Within the index, a sub-category reflecting views on current economic conditions also declined, moving from 70.6 to 68.3.
Meanwhile, expectations regarding future economic conditions decreased from 59.3 to 56.8.
One noteworthy aspect was persistent concern among consumers regarding rising inflation.
Despite the mixed sentiment, the survey highlighted that Americans continued to anticipate higher inflation rates in the foreseeable future.
"More favourable current assessments and expectations of personal finances were offset by a notable deterioration in expected business conditions," said the survey's director, Joanne Hsu.
"In particular, long-run business conditions plunged by 15% to its lowest since July 2022.
"Younger and middle-aged consumers exhibited strong declines in economic attitudes this month, while sentiment of those aged 55 and older improved from October."
Meanwhile, expectations for inflation one year ahead rose from 4.2% for October to 4.5% - their highest level since April 2023.
For the longer term, they increased from 3.0% to 3.2%.
"These expectations have risen in spite of the fact that consumers have taken note of the continued slowdown in inflation - consumers appear worried that the softening of inflation could reverse in the months and years ahead," Hsu added.
Nvidia and Deere decline, HP rises on results
In equity markets, chipmaker Nvidia declined 2.46% after it reported third-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue that surpassed expectations but also issued a cautionary note.
The company warned that export restrictions related to China would impact its performance in the fourth quarter.
Agricultural equipment manufacturer Deere & Company also faced a downturn, with its shares falling by 3.11%.
The drop came after Deere issued guidance for fiscal year 2024 that fell short of market expectations.
On the upside, computing giant HP added 2.83% after it reported generally strong financial results and announced plans to introduce its first AI-powered PCs in the latter half of next year.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Dow Jones - Risers
3M Co. (MMM) $95.37 1.47% Nike Inc. (NKE) $107.92 1.29% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $377.85 1.28% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $309.20 1.26% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $338.66 1.10% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $151.02 0.94% American Express Co. (AXP) $163.80 0.92% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $155.18 0.79% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $543.76 0.77% Boeing Co. (BA) $219.94 0.75%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $20.69 -1.38% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $246.05 -1.36% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $154.67 -0.76% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $51.40 -0.64% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $101.68 -0.52% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $224.01 -0.21% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $150.91 -0.20% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00% Intel Corp. (INTC) $43.67 0.07% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $144.35 0.20%
S&P 500 - Risers
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.49 5.11% Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $52.62 3.14% eBay Inc. (EBAY) $41.64 3.09% HP Inc (HPQ) $28.65 2.83% Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $122.51 2.81% Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (PNW) $73.65 2.58% News Corp Class A (NWSA) $21.95 2.33% RTX Corporation (RTX) $79.82 2.14% Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $24.01 2.13% News Corp Class B (NWS) $22.84 2.10%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $202.66 -6.90% Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $14.21 -4.63% Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $3.79 -3.32% Deere & Co. (DE) $370.76 -3.11% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $487.16 -2.46% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.29 -2.27% Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $22.43 -1.66% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $20.69 -1.38% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $246.05 -1.36% Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $37.53 -1.29%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $34.93 6.56% Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $120.12 5.91% eBay Inc. (EBAY) $41.64 3.09% Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.67 2.17% Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,525.00 1.97% Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $146.71 1.95% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $97.76 1.87% Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $56.34 1.70% Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $34.68 1.55% American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.31 1.48%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $202.66 -6.90% Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $8.91 -4.50% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $234.21 -2.90% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $487.16 -2.46% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $20.69 -1.38% Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $234.26 -1.02% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $972.00 -0.94% Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $143.43 -0.79% Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $3,130.00 -0.48% Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $353.23 -0.44%
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity and Inclusion | Doing Business with Fidelity | Fidelity gender pay report | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Security | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing policy
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.