U.S. stocks had a rocky start to the trading day on Thursday, and slightly recovered as the market came to a close. Market participants are still concerned about global trade as China responses to the coronavirus outbreak. At Davos, Blackstone (NYSE: BX) CEO Stephen Schwarzman noted that President Donald Trump's 'phase one' trade deal with China will undo a burden on global economic growth that has been created by trade imbalances.
Here's how the markets settled at close on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.11% or +3.79 points to 3,325.54
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.09% or -26.18 points to 29,160.09
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.20% or +18.71 points to 9,402.48
In Major Stock News, Yum China (NYSE: YUMC) shares lowered again on Thursday, marking a weekly loss that is over 10% for the stock. The operator of Taco Bell and KFC has been hit with investor concerns about declining sales due to the spread of the coronavirus. Shares of General Electric (NYSE: GE) rose during trading today after Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) raised the stock rating to overweight from equal weight. Boeing (NYSE: BA) shares had a better trading day Thursday, rebounding from three consecutive days of losses.
In Stock Sector News, U.S. sectors continue their mixed performance as the global market considers a possible halt to trade with China. The half that had positive performance growth Thursday include Industrials +1.13%, Real Estate +0.97%, Utilities +0.92%, Information Technology +0.48% and Consumer Discretionary +0.12%. The other half that traded negatively Thursday include Health Care -0.50%, Energy -0.36%, Communication Services -0.34%, Consumer Staples -0.26%, Financials -0.23% and Materials -0.14%.
Lastly, in Commodity and Currency News, the coronavirus has not only affected Chinese stocks, but is impacting the global oil market as investors fear the outbreak will undermine China's economic growth. Traders also fear that the virus will threaten fuel demand, leading oil prices to their lowest point in seven weeks. West Texas Intermediate (NYSE: USO) fell over -0.75% and Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) dropped over -0.90%. Gold (NYSE: GLD), on the other hand, has pared some of the losses the metal experienced in the beginning of the week. The commodity's share price increased almost +0.30% on Thursday. Finally, the U.S. Dollar extended its gains into Friday, with the DXY Index increasing +0.17%.