The growth in the number of new unemployed in the US weakened most stock indices

The growth in the number of new unemployed in the US weakened most stock indices

Most US stock indices closed lower on Wednesday. Thus, the market lost some of its recent gains during mostly quiet trading before Thanksgiving. The shares of industrial, energy and medical companies were sold out. However, shares of technology companies strengthened and moved the Nasdaq index to a record high. The sell-off came after a report said that the number of new unemployed Americans who applied for state support had risen to a high level in more than a month last week. Another report showed that consumer spending in the US has increased at least significantly since April. The S&P 500 index weakened by 0.2 percent to 3,629.65 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Index fell 0.6 percent to 29,872.47 points and the Russell 2000 Smaller Companies Index fell 0.5 percent to 1,845.02 points. However, the technology Nasdaq gained 0.5 percent and closed at 12,094.40 points. Asian stock markets rose on Thursday. The main Tokyo Nikkei 225 index gained 0.9 percent and rose to 26,537.31 points. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange index Hang Seng strengthened by 0.37 percent and the Chinese stock index Shanghai Composite improved by 0.2 percent.