“Dow Jones” closed down 375 points after US GDP numbers slowed and inflation surged.

Dow Jones Index, New York Stock Exchange Closed lower on Thursday (25 April 2024) after the United States revealed gross domestic product (GDP) figures that expanded lower than expected and inflation figures that rose in the first quarter of 2024. In addition, the market was also cheap. Pressure from selling shares with high registered capital. After Meta Company Platform reveals disappointing results

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 38,085.80 points, down 375.12 points or down 0.98%, the S&P 500 index closed at 5,048.42 points, down 23.21 points or down 0.46%, and the Nasdaq index closed at 15,611.76 points, down 100.99 points or down 0.64%.

while US Department of Commerce Revealed that GDP numbers in the 1st quarter of 2024 expanded only 1.6%, which is the lowest expansion in almost 2 years and lower than analysts’ expectations of 2.4%. 1

In addition, the US Department of Commerce revealed that The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index in 1Q/2024 rose 3.4%, higher than in 4Q/2023 which rose 1.8%. As for the Core PCE Index (Core PCE), which does not include the food category, and energy rose 3.7%, higher than in the 4th quarter of 2023 which increased 2.0%.

The US Department of Commerce has released the PCE index for the 1st quarter of 2024 before releasing the PCE index for March today (April 26). The PCE index is a measure of inflation.Federal Reserve (Fed) Important because it can detect changes in consumer behavior and covers the prices of goods and services more broadly than the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

side Mr. Chris Larkin Managing Director of Trading and Investments from E*Trade said the data indicates that the US economy is experiencing a slowdown but inflation is rising. (Stagflation), which may cause the Fed to encounter difficulties in conducting monetary policy. As for the short-term trend We expect these economic numbers to cause the market to face uncertainty.

Meanwhile, the release of lower-than-expected GDP and higher inflation numbers in the first quarter caused investors to lower their expectations for the Fed to cut interest rates this year. The latest CME Group’s FedWatch Tool indicates that investors expect the Fed to cut interest rates this year. The Fed will cut interest rates only once this year.

Communications services stocks fell the hardest among the S&P 500 stocks after Meta Platforms forecast second-quarter 2024 sales in the range of $365-390 billion. The median value of that forecast is $37.75 billion. That was below the average analyst estimate of $38.3 billion.

Meta’s disappointing earnings forecast has caused investors to worry. Before the disclosure of financial results of other companies in the technology group by Microsoft and Alphabet Earnings are due to be released after the market closes.

Meanwhile, International Business Machine (IBM) shares fell 8.2% after the company reported lower-than-expected revenue for the first quarter of 2024. IBM shares also fell after the company announced it would acquire Hachikor. HashiCorp, a cloud software maker Caterpillar shares , a major US construction equipment maker, fell 7% after the company cut its sales forecast for the second quarter of 2024 due to a slowdown in demand for construction equipment.

For other economic data that was revealed last night. The U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims fell 5,000 to 207,000 last week. and lower than analysts’ estimates of 214,000.

in addition The US National Association of Realtors (NAR) It was revealed that the index of home sales contracts pending closing sales (pending home sales) increased 3.4% in March on a monthly basis. While analysts expect it to increase only 0.4%, the index of home sales contracts waiting to close sales It is a measure of the number of contracts for purchasing second-hand homes that have been signed but have not yet been closed. And it usually takes about 1-2 months from signing the contract to closing the sale.