Advertisment
The NASDAQ Composite rose on Thursday while the S&P 500 dipped slightly, as bond yields slid and Wall Street continued to weigh recession risks.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved backward by midday 90.46 points to 30,392.67.
The S&P 500 quelled some early gains but still managed to stay positive 4.98 points to 3,765.64.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ stayed green 84.36 points to 11,137.40.
The major averages came into Thursday’s session posting strong gains for the week. The Dow, S&P 500 gained 2%, and the NASDAQ moved ahead 3% in that time.
Homebuilder stocks led gains in the S&P 500, as the Home Construction ETF (ITB) gained 2.6% on Thursday and 4.6% this week. Shares of Lennar and D.R. Horton are both up more than 3%.
Consumer staples stocks such as Clorox were up 4%. Shares of Costco and Kellogg each gained more than 2%.
On Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said weekly jobless claims fell 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 229,000 for the week ended June 18, though the labour market remains tight.
UBS is the latest investment bank this week to raise its odds of a recession to 69%, citing lackluster data last week in housing, industrial production and capital goods.
Citigroup increased its odds of a recession to 50%, citing a slide in consumer demand that could make it more difficult for the Federal Reserve to achieve a soft landing.
Goldman Sachs said the probability of a downturn is “higher and more front-loaded” than it was previously. In a Monday note, the firm raised its bet of a U.S. recession to 30%, up from 15%, over the next year. It increased those odds to 48%, up from 35%, over the next two years.
On the other hand, a top strategist at JPMorgan on Thursday said he believes the U.S. economy will dodge a recession altogether, with the stock market making back any losses in the back half of the year.
Treasury prices jumped, lowering yields to 3.05% from Wednesday’s 3.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $1.96 to $104.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted $2.30 to $1,836.10 U.S. an ounce.
