The New York Stock Exchange closed Thursday's session, September 10, in negative territory. The Dow Jones lost 0.60% to 52,064.46 points, the S&P 500 fell 0.58% to 7,591.79 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq retreated 0.65% to 26,081.73 points. This decline occurred on a day marked by US President Donald Trump announcing that the federal government would begin issuing $500 Obamacare refunds to nearly one million American citizens in October.
Oil prices continue to rise due to growing concerns about the escalation of hostilities between the United States and Iran. On Thursday, Brent crude, the European benchmark, rose 6.85%, while West Texas Intermediate grew 7.14%. The producer price index, in August, revealed new pressure from higher energy costs, with the biggest rise in three months, a day before the release of the consumer price index.
Investors raised to 70% the probability assigned to a Fed rate hike next week, and are already fully pricing in that hike by October, according to Bloomberg. The number of US unemployment benefit claims fell to 206,000 last week, a slight decrease from the 207,000 in the previous period, the Labor Department reported. The American labor market remained robust, despite higher fuel prices affecting businesses and consumers since the start of the conflict with Iran on February 28.
The euro fell and held steady at the 1.16 dollar level after the ECB's decision to raise interest rates.
