U.S. stock indexes traded sharply lower Thursday, with declines accelerating in morning action, as investors reacted to disappointing results from big-box retailer Walmart Inc., and parsed a weaker-than-expected update on the state of the U.S. labor market amid the COVID pandemic.
What’s driving the market? Market participants were digesting some signs of weakness in the overall U.S. economic recovery, after weekly jobless claims came in at 861,000, marking the highest level in a month and reading of manufacturing activity also fell short of expectations. “The latest jobless claims data are consistent with the downbeat message from labor market indicators at the start of the year,” the economists wrote.
“Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, posted disappointing results, suggesting that the strong January for US retail sales reported yesterday may not have been enough to offset November-December weakness,” he said in a daily research note. Market participants have pointed to progress on more fiscal stimulus from Congress as one cause for optimism for stock buying on Wall Street. Washington lawmakers are still negotiating the terms of the president’s $1.9 trillion COVID aid package. The Biden administration is also next month is expected to release a plan to outline his “Build Back Better” agenda that will focus heavily on infrastructure. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden laid out some elements of his plans to labor leaders.
Ahhh. The biden effect starting to take effect. Good thing he killed all those 28,000 Keystone pipeline jobs!
What did people think was gonna happen when king bozo signs a executive order saying you can quit your job and collect!
Just the beginning of Biden's legacy.