NEW YORK, NY - MAY 17: Traders finish the day at the New York Stock Exchange after markets took a sharp turn downward after news reports of former FBI Director James Comey's interactions with President Trump on May 17, 2017 in New York City. Kevin Hagen/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
NEW YORK: US stocks edged up slightly on Thursday as investors sought bargains a day after the market slumped following a scandal that cast a shadow over Donald Trump’s presidency and the future of his ambitious pro-growth agenda.
Reports that Trump had tried to intervene in an ongoing federal investigation led to the harshest selloff in US stocks on Wednesday since his election in November.
Analysts, however, said the underlying strength in the economy could give investors the confidence to use Wednesday’s decline to buy the market cheap.
“I would anticipate that the markets flatten out and start to rise a little bit maybe midday today, as we finish digesting the news,” said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management, LLC in Chicago, Illinois.
“I’m not concerned, just yet, that we’re on the cusp of a major breakdown in the market. From a very short term perspective this is a very good buying opportunity.”
A report from the US Labour Department showed weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week and the number of Americans receiving unemployment aid hit a 28½-year low, pointing to rapidly shrinking labour market slack.
Financials, which sank more than 3 percent on Wednesday, were up 0.5%, leading the gainers on the S&P 500.
At 9:36am EDT, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 2.99 points, or 0.01%, at 20,609.92, the S&P 500 was up 1.3 points, or 0.06%, at 2,358.33 and the Nasdaq Composite index was up 1.59 points, or 0.03%, at 6,012.83.
Cisco tumbled 8% after the networking gear maker forecast current-quarter revenue that came in below analysts’ estimates.
Wal-Mart was up 2.6% at US$77.09 after the big-box retailer’s quarterly earnings beat analysts’ expectations.
Alibaba was down 2.9% at US$117.07 after the Chinese e-commerce website’s quarterly earnings missed analysts’ expectations.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,732 to 802. On the Nasdaq, 1,259 issues fell and 896 advanced.
The S&P 500 index showed six new 52-week highs and eight new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded three new highs and 31 new lows. - Reuters
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