Wall Street’s main indexes on Wednesday posted their best day since the November election, boosted by President Donald Trump’s more measured tone in a speech to Congress
and as bank stocks surged on increased chances of an interest rate hike this month.
(Reuters) - U. S. stocks slipped on Thursday as investors booked profits after a record day on Wall Street
that propelled the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 21,000 for the first time ever.
"Even on the Federal Reserve Board, the last of the doves is finally acknowledging
that if things seem strong enough we’ve got some cover here to move," Mike Mussio, president of FBB Capital Partners.
ET (1436 GMT) the Dow was down 27.9 points, or 0.13 percent, at 21,087.65, the S&P 500 was down 6.77 points, or 0.28 percent, at 2,389.19
and the Nasdaq Composite was down 16.47 points, or 0.28 percent, at 5,887.56.
The data supported a flurry of encouraging comments on the economy from Federal Reserve officials
that nudged the markets to price in higher chances of an interest rate hike in two weeks.
A report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed
that the number of Americans who applied for jobless claims fell to a 44-year low last week, pointing to continued strength in the labor market.