US S&P, Nasdaq ends at record

The US stocks were mixed in choppy session on Thursday, 18 November 2021, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs, while the Dow closed down.

The mixed performance of stocks came as investors focused on upbeat retail and technology earnings which outshone hawkish inflation comments from a Federal Reserve policymaker. New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said inflation is becoming more broad-based and that expectations for future price increases are rising.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 60.10 points, or 0.17%, to 35,870.95. The S&P500 index added 15.87 points, or 0.34%, to 4,704.54. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 72.14 points, or 0.45%, to 15,993.71.

Total volume turnover on U.S. exchanges stood at 9.87 billion shares. Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE exchange by 2195 to 1170 and 134 closed unchanged. In the NASDAQ, 1492 issues advanced, 3141 issues declined, and 253 issues unchanged.

Total 7 of 11 S&P500 sectors ended down, with energy (down 0.54%) was bottom performing issue followed by utilities (down 0.53%), financials (down 0.48%), and materials (down 0.44%) issues, while consumer discretionary (up 1.49%) was top performing sector, followed by information technology (up 1.02%) sector.

Retail stocks saw significant strength on the day following upbeat results from companies. Macy's Inc surged more than 20% after it raised its annual earnings guidance and flagged plans for a potential spinoff of its ecommerce division. Kohl's Corp advanced after raising its forecast benefited from Americans stepping out to shop more following the easing of pandemic restrictions. Coty Inc shares closed up after the Hugo Boss fragrance maker forecast modest revenue growth for the next several years.

Technology stocks advanced, led by Nvidia after the chipmaker reported better than expected third quarter results and provided upbeat guidance, expecting to benefit from growth in its data center business and investments in the metaverse.

Cisco Systems shares tumbled as the company reported better than expected fiscal first quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance due to supply chain shortages and delays.

ECONOMIC NEWS: The Labor Department released a report showing initial jobless claims edged down to 268,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level of 269,000.

A separate report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed index for current general activity rose to 39.0 in November from 23.8 in October, as Factories across the U.S. are experiencing strong demand for goods, but persistent supply chain bottlenecks are constraining production and contributing to a rise in prices. Around 42% of firms in the Philly Fed's district reported increases in overall activity in November, while 3% reported decreases compared with the previous month.

Among Indian ADR, WNS Holdings added 0.93% to $88.93, HDFC Bank added 2.17% to $71.96, and ICICI Bank added 0.59% to $20.50. Wipro declined 1.43% to $8.96, INFOSYS sank 0.38% to $23.65, Azure Power Global fell 2.57% to $22, Dr Reddys Labs fell 1.32% to $62.82, and Tata Motors fell 5.15% to $33.14.

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