Wall Street today: US stocks fall after weak housing starts data

US stocks edged lower on Friday after weak housing starts data for July showed that the real estate market remained depressed at the start of the third quarter.

At 9:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 53.74 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 40,509.32, the S&P 500 lost 12.63 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 5,530.59 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 52.02 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 17,542.48.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34.2 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 40528.86. The S&P 500 fell 12.7 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 5530.5, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 78.1 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 17516.404.

Shares of semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials shed more than 4 per cent after it forecast fourth quarter revenue slightly above Wall Street estimates.

Packaging company Amcor’s stock lost more than 6 per cent after it reported decline in fourth quarter sales.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.88 per cent from 3.92 per cent late on Thursday.

Brent crude futures were down $1.59, or 2 per cent, at $79.45 per barrel by 1315 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $1.71, or 2.2 per cent, to $76.45.

Chinese data on Thursday showed that new home prices fell at the fastest pace in July in nine years, industrial output slowed and unemployment rose.

At a cabinet plenary session on Friday, China’s Premier Li Qiang said that great efforts must be made to boost the economy and the country will focus on stimulating consumption, state media reported.

Spot gold was up 1.3 per cent to $2,487.66 per ounce by 09:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT). US gold futures rose 1.4 per cent to $2,526.40.

Silver fell 0.2 per cent to $28.32 per ounce.

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First Published:

16 Aug 2024, 08:17 PM IST