- US stocks were mostly lower on Thursday, ending a three-day rally amid new virus restrictions.
- The UK has imposed a new mask-wearing policy indoors as it expects a big surge in cases.
- Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims fell to 184,000 last week, hitting its lowest level in decades.
US stocks finished mostly lower on Thursday, ending a 3-day win streak as investors digest new virus restrictions and weekly jobless claims data.
Seeking to prevent a surge in daily COVID-19 cases amid the spread of the Omicron variant, the UK is imposing new mask wearing restrictions in certain indoor settings, and is asking employees to work from home when possible.
Early studies suggest that the Omicron variant is much more transmissible than the Delta variant, and that three doses of Pfizer's vaccine provide protection from the disease.
Weekly jobless claims were below economist estimates on Thursday, with 184,000 claims representing the lowest level since 1969. Continuing claims rose to 1.99 million for the week that ended November 27, missing estimates.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Thursday:
- S&P 500: 4,670.08, down 0.72%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,755.28, up 0.01% (0.53 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 15,517.37, down 1.71%
As cryptocurrency continues to grow in popularity, users of the ethereum blockchain are growing infuriated by the high transaction fees of ether. The problem could derail ether's leading status and developers are rushing to fix the issue. Ether's loss is a win for other cryptos, as its helping boost boost ether rivals like solana and avalanche.
Ark Invest's Cathie Wood believes bitcoin has a lot more gas left in its tank, as growing allocations by institutional investors could drive its price to more than $500,000. Wood also defended Ark Invest's strategy of investing in innovative growth stocks.
This year has been a wild ride for cryptocurrencies, including metaverse tokens and digital art that is valued in cryptos like ether. These are the 10 best performing crypto assets of 2021.
MicroStrategy is buying the dip in bitcoin, having added 1,434 bitcoin to its holdings over the past week. The average price paid was $57,477. Those purchases were underwater on Thursday, with bitcoin trading below $50,000.
All eyes were on original meme stock GameStop on Thursday, after the video game retailer announce third-quarter earnings that beat revenue estimates but missed profit estimates. The company disclosed an ongoing inquiry by the SEC, and the stock traded lower by about 3%.
Lumber prices rose 5% on Thursday, jumping above the $1,000 price level as demand for the essential building material remains steady amid ongoing supply chain issues.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped as much as 0.90% to $71.71 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, fell as much as 0.91% to $75.13 per barrel.
Gold fell as much as 0.46% to $1,777.30 per ounce.