Crude losses deepen, U.S. retailers' holiday worries - what's moving markets
Investing.com — U.S. stocks are set to be shuttered for Thanksgiving festivities, after equities on Wall Street gained in the last full day of trading this week on Wednesday. Meanwhile, oil prices extend declines after OPEC+ unexpectedly delayed a much-anticipated output policy meeting. Elsewhere, Reuters reports that staff researchers at OpenAI had warned of the risks of a new artificial intelligence breakthrough prior to the temporary dismissal of chief executive Sam Altman.
1. U.S. stock markets to close for Thanksgiving
U.S. equity markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
On Wednesday, stocks on Wall Street climbed in the last full session of a truncated trading week, as investors remained optimistic that the Federal Reserve may have finished its long-running campaign of interest rate hikes.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 185 points or 0.5%, the benchmark S&P 500 added 18 points or 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 66 points or 0.5%.
New economic data showed that the amount of Americans filing for unemployment aid, considered to be a proxy for layoffs, dropped by more than expected last week. University of Michigan price growth expectations were also revised higher, while durable goods orders in October were softer than projected.
Traders seemed to view the figures as signs that the world's largest economy may be easing, but will remain resilient enough to avert a recession. Coupled with minutes from the Fed's November meeting earlier this week which suggested that policymakers will «proceed carefully» before further raising borrowing costs, hopes remain that the Fed's tightening cycle — which has lifted rates to more than two-decade highs — could be over.
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