US close: Stocks fall sharply as data fears outweigh shutdown relief

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks dropped sharply on Thursday, with the Dow and S&P 500 snapping a four-day winning streak and the Nasdaq Composite hitting a three-week low, as investors overlooked the opening of the US government amid concerns about the availability of economic data.

The Dow and S&P 500 both dropped 1.7%, with the former having surged nearly 3% since last Thursday to a record closing high of 48,254.82. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, sank, 2.3% to reach 22,870.36 - its lowest close since 22 October.

"Today's move is a classic 'buy the rumour, sell the fact', as the market digests the news that the shutdown has come to an end," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

"At the headline level, tech remains the weakest area for a third day in a row, but US small caps continue to take losses too. Notably volatility is on the rise again, moving up for a second day, suggesting that jitters around high valuations haven't gone away."

A spending package to fund the government until the end of January was approved by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives and signed by president Donald Trump late on Wednesday. The bill will send all furloughed federal employees back to work, provide funds for federal agencies and departments, and give back pay for 43 days to hundreds of thousands of public sector employees.

However, the package was just a stopgap bill as party leaders continue to debate over the future of enhanced healthcare insurance which expires at the end of this year. Failure to come to an agreement could result in another shutdown come February (with the exception of certain branches that have spending bills agreed for the whole of 2026).

What's more, the opening of government had hoped to kickstart a barrage of delayed economic data releases - markets have been without any government-produced figures since the start of October - though October's reports on payrolls and inflation (both already overdue) and are "likely never" to be released, according to the White House, since the shutdown impaired the ability to gather the necessary data.

With September's employment report still not yet out, and November's set to be published just days before the next Federal Reserve meeting on 9-10 December, uncertainty regarding monetary policy remains high.

"Even if data for October are going to be released, the quality of data collection in October may have been compromised, undermining their reliability," said analysts at Rabobank in an email.

The bank said that policymakers "will have to rely on other data more than they are used to and on their prior beliefs. If the latter are reflected in the bimodal September dot plot, we could be looking at a big fight between hawks and doves in December."

Banks and tech stocks drop

Banking stocks were among the day's worst performers on the back of macro concerns, with shares of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America firmly in the red.

A number of heavyweight tech stocks also fell sharply, with Tesla, Intel, Broadcom, eBay and Nvidia among the heaviest fallers on the Nasdaq 100.

Cisco bucked the trend, gaining 5% after the networking giant beat forecasts with its fiscal first-quarter results after-hours on Wednesday, and issuing forward guidance that topped analysts' estimates, fuelled by $1.3bn in AI infrastructure orders.

Shares in Disney dropped 8% after the streaming and entertainment group missed market estimates with its results for the fiscal fourth quarter, as top-line gains in streaming and experiences were offset by declines in its movie business and cable TV networks.

Boeing finished lower but trimmed earlier losses after the aerospace company's unionised machinists agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement following a 15-week strike.

Meanwhile, Verizon edged higher after reports that the telecoms titan is to slash 15,000 jobs in a cost-cutting drive starting next week. According to the Wall Street Journal, the plans also include moving around 200 stores to franchises, with staff at those stores shifting off its payroll.

Dow Jones - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $77.38 4.62%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $23.11 4.19%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $66.03 2.85%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $92.93 1.62%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $155.58 1.47%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.11 0.76%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $287.42 0.45%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $195.30 0.44%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $307.58 0.21%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $0.00 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $107.61 -7.75%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $35.91 -5.23%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $805.50 -3.99%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $309.48 -3.41%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $555.30 -3.40%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $304.86 -3.21%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $240.43 -2.27%

American Express Co. (AXP) $364.73 -2.16%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $332.52 -1.93%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $503.29 -1.54%

S&P 500 - Risers

Sealed Air Corp. (SEE) $42.50 16.82%

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $45.52 5.10%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $77.38 4.62%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $114.57 3.85%

Apache Corp. (APA) $24.69 3.35%

Ball Corp (BALL) $47.94 3.16%

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF) $67.43 3.09%

Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN) $62.72 2.92%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $66.03 2.85%

Brown Forman Corp. Class B (BF.B) $28.05 2.56%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $107.61 -7.75%

Corning Inc. (GLW) $82.36 -7.47%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $262.56 -7.31%

Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $91.37 -6.85%

TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $14.77 -6.85%

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $53.95 -6.45%

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) $55.74 -5.92%

Fluor Corp. (FLR) $43.04 -5.88%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $157.16 -5.39%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $35.91 -5.23%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $77.38 4.62%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $217.72 2.26%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $164.73 2.01%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $694.99 1.95%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $125.20 1.46%

Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $187.91 1.42%

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $925.08 1.21%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $10.95 1.01%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $24.98 0.93%

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $214.57 0.89%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $262.56 -7.31%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $401.99 -6.64%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $120.65 -6.43%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $157.16 -5.39%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $35.91 -5.23%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $153.32 -5.02%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $339.98 -4.29%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $204.80 -3.88%

eBay Inc. (EBAY) $84.43 -3.83%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $186.86 -3.58%