U.S. stock markets closed lower on Thursday following profit booking by investors on mixed economic data. However, market participants remained hopeful on another round of interest rate cut this month. All three major stock indexes ended in negative territory.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) tumbled 0.5% or 234.44 points after a choppy session to close at 43,914.12. The blue-chip index recorded a six-day losing streak. Notably, 16 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory while 14 in positive zone.

The major loser of the Dow was UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH. The stock price of this medical insurer tanked 3.3%. UnitedHealth Group currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 19,902.84, sliding 0.7% or 132.05 points due to weak performance by technology behemoths. The S&P 500 dropped 0.5% to finish at 6,051.25. Nine out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in negative territory while two in positive zone. 

The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE), the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector (XLY) fell 0.8% each. On the other hand, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) rose 0.3%. 

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 2.5%% to 13.92. A total of 13.61 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 14.17 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 3.11-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 2.57-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.

Mixed Economic Data

The Department of Labor reported that the producer price index (CPI) for final demand rose 0.4% in November, higher-than-the consensus estimate of 0.2%. The metric for October was revised upward to 0.3% from 0.2% reported earlier. Year over year, PPI increased 3% in the last month, compared 2.6% in October.

Core PPI (excluding volatile food and energy items) also rose 0.2% in November, in line with the consensus estimate. The metric for October was revised downward to 0.2% from 0.3% reported earlier. Core PPI (excluding trade services) was up 0.1% in November. Year over year, Core PPI (excluding volatile food, energy and trade services) increased 3.5% in November, in line with the previous month.

The Department of Labor reported that initial claims increased by 17,000 to 242,000 for the week ended Dec 7, higher than the consensus estimate of 220,000. Previous week’s data was revised upward to 225,000 from 224,000 reported earlier.