US Stocks and Market Movements Amid Geopolitical Tensions
Nov 20, 2024 at 2:54 PM
US stocks faced a decline on Wednesday due to the escalating geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Investors were also awaiting the quarterly results of chip giant Nvidia. At 09:53 am, the Dow Jones Industrial Average showed a slight increase of 1.09 points to 43,270.03, while the S&P 500 lost 20.79 points (0.35%) to 5,896.19 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 94.90 points (0.50%) to 18,892.57. At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 27.1 points (0.06%) to 43,296.05, the S&P 500 fell 2.6 points (0.04%) to 5,914.34, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 16.2 points (0.09%) to 18,971.311. Nvidia is set to release its third-quarter results after trading ends, and its stock was down 1.2%. Among other megacap stocks, Tesla lost 1.3% and Amazon.com shed 1.4%. US retailer Target tumbled 19.6% after reporting weaker quarterly profit and revenue. Home retailer Williams-Sonoma jumped 23.3% as it delivered better profit and revenue for the third quarter.In the bond market, the 10-year yield edged up from 4.40% late on Tuesday to 4.42%.CryptocurrencyBitcoin witnessed a remarkable rise on Wednesday, reaching a new record high for the second consecutive day. This came after MicroStrategy Inc announced a significant purchase of the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin surged as much as 2.6% to $94,668 and has seen an approximately 40% increase since Donald Trump won the US presidential election.BullionGold prices experienced a slight easing as the US dollar strengthened. As of 1238 GMT, spot gold was down 0.2% at $2,627.60 per ounce, and US gold futures were steady at $2,631.30. Spot silver also fell 1% to $30.89 per ounce.Crude OilOil prices edged higher on Wednesday. Concerns about the escalating hostilities in the Ukraine war, which could potentially disrupt oil supply from Russia, outweighed data showing rising US crude stocks. Brent crude futures for January rose 49 cents (0.7%) to $73.80 a barrel at 1313 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for December, due to expire on Wednesday, rose 71 cents (1%) to $70.10, while the more active WTI contract for January rose 56 cents (0.8%) to $69.80.
