LIVE UPDATES: Retail sales sag, Musk dumps Tesla shares, ECB raises rates

8 PostsSort BySort by NewestSort by OldestBack to Top

incoming update…Futures at a glanceU.S. stock futures are down across the board after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a 50-basis-point hike at their final meeting of the year on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down roughly 263 points, or 0.77%, while the S&P and Nasdaq futures are 0.96% and 1.23% lower, respectively.

Over the last five days, the Dow is now off by 0.15%, the S&P clings to a gain of 0.68% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 0.29% lower.

Pre-market, key tech shares have helped drag the Nasdaq lower as Meta slipped nearly 1.93%, Apple retreated by roughly 1.23%, while Microsoft and Nvidia both dipped approximately 0.96% and 2.59% beneath the redline.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.08% to $77.34 a barrel, as gold dropped 1.70% to $1,787.70 an ounce.Posted by FOX Business Team ShareStock futures fall on rate concernsStock traders (Reuters)

U.S. equity futures traded lower Thursday morning after a retreat on Wall Street as markets registered their dismay over the Federal Reserves warning that still higher interest rates are in store.

The major futures indexes suggest a decline of 0.8% when trading begins on Wall Street.

Oil prices traded lower on Thursday as the dollar firmed and demand concerned increased over the possibility of further interest rate hikes.

U.S. crude futures traded around $76.00 a barrel.

Brent crude futures traded around $82.00 per barrel.

As expected, the U.S. central bank raised interest rates by 0.50 percentage points on Wednesday. It was its seventh hike this year. The Fed also said it expects rates to be higher in coming years than it had anticipated.

A very hectic morning of economic data on tap Thursday, with a focus on retail sales, jobs and manufacturing activity.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.4%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 1.6% and China’s Shanghai Composite index edged 0.3% lower.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 lost 0.6% to 3,995.32, giving up an earlier gain of 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 33,966.35, and the Nasdaq composite gave back 0.8%, closing at 11,170.89.Posted by Ken Martin ShareRetail sales, jobless claims headline economic calendarClothes shopping (Getty Images)

A very hectic morning of economic data on tap Thursday, with a focus on retail sales, jobs and manufacturing activity.

First up will be retail sales for November. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv anticipate consumer spending to slip 0.1%, following a stronger-than-expected 1.3% jump in October. Excluding the automotive component, spending is seen climbing 0.2% in November, trailing a robust 1.3% pop the previous month.  

At the same time the Labor Department will release the number of new jobless claims filed last week. Expectations are for 230,000, unchanged from the previous week and indicating continued tightness in the labor market, a condition that Fed chairman Powell noted in the post-meeting press conference. Continuing claims, which track the total number of workers collecting unemployment benefits, are expected to hold steady at 1.671 million, the highest in 10 months.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey is expected to decline to -1.0 in December, falling back into contraction territory after jumping more than expected in November to 4.5 and into expansion. A number below zero means that more New York-area manufacturers say business conditions are worsening than improving. 

At the same time the Philadelphia Federal Reserve is out with its index of manufacturing activity for eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. Its expected to rebound in December to -10.0 from -19.4, remaining in contraction for a fourth month. 

The Federal Reserve will post industrial production data for November. Factory output is expected to increase 0.1% for the month, following a surprise decline of 0.1% in October. 

Keep an eye out for October business inventories. Theyre expected to rise 0.4% on the month, matching Septembers 0.8% increase.Posted by Ken Martin ShareECB to slow rate hikesEuropean Central Bank Headquarters (Reuters)

The European Central Bank is set to raise interest rates following Thursday’s meeting.

It would be the fourth increase in a row, although by less than at its last two meetings, and lay out plans to drain cash from the financial system as it fights runaway inflation, according  to Reuters.

The central bank for the 19-country euro zone raised the interest it pays on bank deposits from -0.5% to 1.5% in just three months, reversing a decade of ultra-easy policy after being wrong-footed by the sudden rise in prices.

A Reuters poll of economists expected the ECB to raise rates by half a percentage point after 75-basis-point hikes at each of its two previous meetings.

It would mirror the U.S. Federal Reserve’s change of pace on Wednesday.Posted by Ken Martin ShareTikTok ban is not if but whenTikTok logo split in illustration (FBN)

TikTok continued to take the punches this week as several states implemented bans on the social media platform and U.S. lawmakers joined together for a bipartisan proposal to stop the company from conducting business transactions anywhere in the country.

The proposal was introduced by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, as fears surrounding TikTok suggest it is a Trojan horse, of sorts, being used to spy on Americans and censor content.

Continue readingPosted by Ken Martin ShareGasoline price slide continuesGas Prices (AAA)

The nationwide price for a gallon of gasoline slipped Thursday to $3.193, according to AAA.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline on Wednesday was $3.214.

It was a week ago that the price of a gallon of regular gasoline slipped below that of a year ago.

A year ago, the price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.318.

One week ago, a gallon of gasoline cost $3.329. A month ago, that same gallon of gasoline cost $3.759.

Everyone remembers when gas hit an all-time high of $5.016 on June 14.

Diesel has slipped below $5.00 per gallon to $4.831, but that is still a far cry from the $3.594 of a year ago.Posted by Ken Martin ShareOil dips as more rate hikes loomOil rigs pumping (Reuters)

Oil prices traded lower on Thursday as the dollar firmed and demand concerned increased over the possibility of further interest rate hikes.

U.S. crude futures traded around $76.00 a barrel.

Brent crude futures traded around $82.00 per barrel.

Both contracts fell as the dollar gained. A stronger dollar weakens oil demand as it makes the commodity more expensive for those holding other currencies, according to Reuters..

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the U.S. central bank will raise interest rates further next year, even as the economy slips towards a possible recession.

Price declines were capped by projections from the International Energy Agency, which see Chinese oil demand recovering next year after a contraction this year of 400,000 barrels per day.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by more than 10 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration.Posted by Ken Martin Share Cryptocurrency prices for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin were lower in Thursday tradingBitcoin was trading around $17,000, after rising in four of the last five days.

For the week, Bitcoin has gained more than 5%.

For the month, the cryptocurrency has gained more than 4%, but is down more than 61% year-to-date.

Ethereum was trading around $1,200, after gaining more than 6% in the past week.

Dogecoin was trading at 8 cents, after losing more than 7% in the past week.Posted by Ken Martin Share

Live Coverage begins here