US stocks finished mostly unchanged on Thursday, with investors adopting a cautious stance ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting. Weekly jobless claims fell to their lowest level since September 2022, reflecting mixed signals from an increasingly fragile labor market.
A report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that US employers announced over one million layoffs so far this year, driven by restructuring, artificial intelligence adoption, and tariff-related pressures.
With signs of a cooling labor market becoming more evident, Wall Street is widely convinced that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points at its final meeting of the year on December 10.
Investors are also tracking developments around the Trump administration’s tariff agenda, as well as potential spillover effects on the domestic labor market. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that even if the current tariff structure loses in the pending Supreme Court case, the administration could still redesign the tariff framework using various clauses within the 1962 Trade Expansion Act.
Markets now turn their attention to key US data due Friday, including delayed September spending, income, and PCE inflation figures, along with the University of Michigan’s December consumer sentiment report.
US Stocks
By market cap, at Thursday’s close:
Nvidia +2.12%, Apple -1.21%, Alphabet-A -0.63%, Microsoft +0.65%, Amazon -1.41%, Broadcom +0.11%, Meta +3.43%, TSMC -0.85%, Tesla +1.74%, Berkshire Hathaway-A -0.43%, Eli Lilly -1.85%.
Chinese ADRs were mostly higher. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 0.39%.
Alibaba -0.40%, JD.com -0.44%, Baidu +1.23%, Pinduoduo -0.32%, Bilibili +1.94%, NIO +4.59%, NetEase -0.84%, Futu +1.53%, Li Auto +0.86%, Xpeng +3.34%, EHang +4.45%, Hesai +4.06%, Canadian Solar +5.55%, Dingdong +6.56%, ATRenew +8.76%.
Market Snapshot:
Dow -31.96 pts (-0.07%) at 47,850.94
Nasdaq +51.04 pts (+0.22%) at 23,505.14
S&P 500 +7.40 pts (+0.11%) at 6,857.12
Hong Kong Markets
Hong Kong equities fell across the board. By midday, tech stocks were mixed, with Xiaomi and Baidu up more than 1%, while NetEase dropped over 1%.
Power equipment names outperformed. Goldwind rose over 6% after Guojin Securities noted that China’s wind sector continues to improve, expecting strong Q4 installation demand supported by robust order books.
Metals stocks also climbed. Jiangxi Copper gained over 5% after JPMorgan highlighted a massive 50,000-ton LME copper warrant cancellation, the largest since 2013, signaling a transition into a more volatile mid-cycle bull phase.
Market Snapshot:
Hang Seng Index -0.25% at 25,872.09
Hang Seng Tech Index -0.20% at 5,604.24
China Enterprises Index -0.14% at 9,093.93
A50 / Mainland China
Mainland indices opened higher across the board. By midday:
Shanghai Composite +0.08%, Shenzhen Component +0.39%, ChiNext +0.47%, Beijing 50 +0.47%.
Turnover across Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing reached RMB 999.6 billion, down RMB 40.6 billion from the previous session. Over 3,500 stocks advanced.
Leading sectors included computing hardware, metals, controlled nuclear fusion, and Fujian-related themes. Banks and pharmaceuticals lagged.
Market Snapshot:
Shanghai Composite +0.08% at 3,878.99
Shenzhen Component +0.39% at 13,057.09
ChiNext +0.47% at 3,082.05
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