Market roundup for July 23 – Caribbean Business

SAN JUAN – The US stock market was significantly impacted Thursday, experiencing the greatest decline in the past 30 days.

Investors reacted negatively. The U.S. Labor Department reported close to 1.42 million new unemployment applications, an 8.34% increase that surprised economists, who had predicted claims would remain flat. The rise in unemployment claims comes as Congress evaluates a new stimulus package, and one of the issues is the fact that enhanced unemployment benefits willo elapse at the end of the month.

On the flip side, U.S. existing home sales rose 20.7% from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.72 million in June.

The real culprit for the market woes is the rising cases of Covid-19 across the United States.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,652.46, down 383.38 points, or 1.42%.
• The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed at 3,233.85, down 42.17 points, or 1.29%.
• The NASDAQ Composite Index closed at 10,470.39, down 235.74 points, or 2.2%.
• The Birling Capital Puerto Rico Stock Index closed at 1,518.81 points, up 8.9, or 0.59%.
• The US Treasury 10-year note closed at 0.59%.
• The U.S. Treasury 2-year note closed at 0.16%.