NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are falling as Wall Street tries to figure out whether more news on the economy is good or bad. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% early Thursday, slightly off its all-time high reached late last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 41 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.7%. The U.S. government reopens after a six-week shutdown, the longest in history. Wall Street is bracing for potential volatility as the government returns to issuing important updates on the job market and other areas of the economy. Walt Disney Co. fell after reporting mixed financial results.
This is the latest news. Previous articles from the Associated Press are below.
Wall Street fell slightly early Thursday after President Donald Trump signed the U.S. government funding bill, ending monetary policy. Recorded 43 days of closure.
Futures prices for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq all fell by less than 0.1%. The six-week standoff before the bell and the reopening of the federal government has left federal workers traveling without pay, many travelers stranded at airports and long lines at some food banks, causing economic stress.
“The government shutdown not only hampered spending, but also delayed the release of many federal economic indicators,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. “All that matters to the market is simply that the lights are coming back on.”
The market has been heavily tilted towards corporate earnings reports since October 1, as the government shutdown left investors and analysts with much of their reliable data. Most high-profile companies have already released their latest financial results, but a few losers remain.
Walt Disney’s stock price fell nearly 5% following the news. Fourth quarter results mixed That’s because weak performance at TV networks and some movies was offset by strong performance in the streaming business and theme parks.
Tech giant Cisco rose 6.8% after beating Wall Street forecasts and its own guidance, citing strong first-quarter results that helped boost demand for AI infrastructure.
Elsewhere, in Europe as of midday, Germany’s DAX was down 0.5%, while Paris’ CAC40 index was up 0.4%. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.8%.
Asian stocks also generally rose. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.4% to 51,281.83. But market heavyweight and tech giant SoftBank Group fell a further 3.4%, on top of Wednesday’s 3.5% decline, after the company announced it was selling its entire stake in computer chip maker Nvidia.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.6% to 27,073.03, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7% to 4,029.50 as mainland stocks rose ahead of the latest information on Chinese loans.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 fell for the third session in a row, down 0.5% to 8,753.40, as hopes for a short-term interest rate cut were dashed by strong jobs data that showed the unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in October from 4.5% in September.
South Korea’s Kospi fluctuated between gains and losses, closing 0.5% higher at 4,170.63.
Taiwan’s ThaiEx index fell nearly 0.2%, while India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.2%.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 40 cents to $58.89 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 41 cents to $63.12 per barrel.
