Market Commentary - Foreign Markets
US stocks end lower amid cautious trades As on : 04-Oct-24  13:10

The US stocks ended lower on Thursday but saw a good intraday recovery. Traders remained cautious amid the ongoing Middle East conflict and the anticipation of the jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.44%, the S&P 500 fell by 0.17%, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped by 0.04%. US President Joe Biden warned that the US was considering strikes on Iranian oil facilities in response to Tehran's missile attack on Israel. Meanwhile, Israel continued its military campaign against the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, with new air strikes targeting Beirut.

Economic cues were lax. September saw a further marked expansion of US services activity as demand was helped in part by a reduction in interest rates. New business continued to rise solidly, leading to a build-up of unfinished work as companies were cautious with regards to hiring in the face of strong cost pressures. In fact, input prices rose at the joint-fastest pace in a year, with selling price inflation also accelerating. Meanwhile, business confidence dropped markedly due to concerns of a slowdown in the economy.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global US Services PMI Business Activity Index posted 55.2 in September, down from 55.7 in August but still signaling a marked monthly increase in service sector output at the end of the third quarter, and one that was among the strongest in the past two-and-a-half years. Meanwhile, employment dropped for the second month running, albeit only marginally. The S&P Global US Composite PMI Output Index posted 54.0 in September, down from 54.6 in August but still signaling a solid monthly improvement in business activity at the end of the third quarter. Investors were also closely watching the US nonfarm payrolls report, which could provide further insights into the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy.

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