US equities closed mixed on Wed, ahead of the US Thanksgiving holiday today
(Thur) as investors digest a slew of economic data releases with tapering
concerns fuelled by FOMC minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 9.42
pt, 0.03% lower to close at 35,804.38. The broader S&P 500 index rose 0.23%.
The Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.37% on low volumes ahead of a holiday.
Nordstrom (JWN US) shed 29% on Wed after earnings missed estimates. The
Gap (GPS US) plunged 24.12% after posting poorer-than-forecast results and
cutting net-sales forecast.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped 3.1 basis points (bps) to
1.6341%. The iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG US) fell
0.02%.
The most actively traded US gold futures (Dec) contracts settled up US$0.50, or
0.02%, at US$1,784.30/oz.
December silver, which is the most actively traded silver futures, rose 6.1 US
cents, or 0.3%, to end at US$23.496/oz.
The ICE dollar index (DXY), which measures the strength of the greenback
against a basket of currencies, rose 0.4% to 96.875.
The front-month Brent and WTI futures closed down 6 US cents at US$82.25/bbl
and 11 US cents at US$78.39/bbl respectively.
European equity markets finished mixed on Wed. The UK FTSE gained 0.27%,
France's CAC 40 fell 0.03%, while the German DAX retreated 0.37%.
