Stock Market Indices Picks Tiny Gains as Market Closes for Thanksgiving

The American stock market is closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving Holiday, and the stock market indices traded positively ahead of the national celebrations. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) advanced 0.23% to around 4,701.46, just below a November 18 closing record high at 4,704.54. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) inked a 0.44% growth, advancing with a 70 points addition to 15,845.23. The tides were not in favor of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) as the 30-stock index slumped by a mere 0.026% to 35,804.38.

The growth in the market was stirred by many factors including the Joe Biden administration’s re-nomination of Jerome Powell as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. The confluence of positivity in the economy has kept both the S&P 500 and the Dow up in the past week, with the Nasdaq Composite advancing by 1.3% in the week thus far.

“It’s certainly a story of more rotation,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management. “The market is now — with the Powell renomination — thinking this is a reopening story, which sets aside any of the risks or concerns we might have about rising Covid infection rates.”

The minutes of the meeting of the Federal Reserve as released on Wednesday shows that the Central Bank leaders are exploring the options to fast-track the timeline in which they will slow down asset purchasing as well as in raising the benchmark fund rates. This is inspired as the rate of inflation continues to rise, as the banking veterans acknowledged “inflation pressures could take longer to subside” than they previously believed due to continuing labor and supply shortages.

While the duo of personal income and consumer spending surged beyond expectations in October, the core personal consumption expenditures, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, was up 4.1% year over year for October, matching estimates.

A strong consumer and pent-up demand was supposed to make this a strong holiday season for retail, but margin and wage pressures are disrupting many retailer outlooks,” Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a note to clients.

Individual Stock Performances that Shaped the Market Indices Outlook

There was a mixture of growth and suppression amongst various company’s stocks on Wednesday. American subscription streaming service and production company, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) inked a 0.65% growth to $658.29 as the company said it will be acquiring Munich-based visual reality studio, Scanline VFX.

The duo of clothing retail company Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS), and luxury department store chain Nordstrom Inc (NYSE: JWN) plunged by 24.05% and 29.03% respectively. Both companies reported disappointing earnings in comparison to Wall Street’s estimates. Bitcoin is trading in the green, up 2.68% to $58,047.97, however, the premier digital currency is down 2.71% for the week according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The US stock market is billed to open on Friday but will be closing earlier than usual in continuation of the national holidays.

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Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.