The US stock exchanges closed little changed in the middle of the week

The US stock exchanges closed little changed in the middle of the week. In the run-up to the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, investors were cautious. Before the festivities, however, they had to process a lot of economic data and the minutes of the latest Fed meeting. The Dow Jones index closed almost unchanged at 35,804 points, the S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite traded 0.4 percent stronger. Two main issues have slowed Wall Street recently. On the one hand, there are concerns about new infections in the corona pandemic and the restrictions imposed as a result, and on the other hand, high inflation, which could last longer than many expected. Companies may have had a splendid reporting season, but this topic has largely been off the table. "We have made fantastic profits, the bond market is normal, inflation has risen, but interest rates are very low," said Tim Holland, chief investment officer, Orion Advisor Solutions. It is difficult for him not to be optimistic: "As long as interest rates are low and earnings are growing, it is very difficult not to invest in stocks." The gross domestic product for the third quarter, which turned out to be slightly weaker than expected, was announced in the pre-trading session. The weekly data on the labor market, however, showed strength. The number of initial jobless claims has dropped to its lowest level since 1969. Incoming orders for durable goods came in weakly. US consumer sentiment clouded slightly less than expected in November, according to the Michigan Index, with inflation expectations rising. The price index for personal consumption expenditure rose by 0.6 percent compared to the previous month and was 5.0 (September: 4.4) percent above the level of the same month last year. Meanwhile, new build sales rose less than expected. The US central bankers discussed inflation concerns at their council meeting on November 3rd, according to the minutes of the meeting that has now been published. According to this, some central bankers indicated that they would like to phase out the bond purchase program earlier because of the higher inflationary pressure if the need to raise interest rates increases. On the bond market, the yields fell slightly with the ongoing corona worries, after initially increasing with the inflation data presented. The dollar continued to advance. The greenback was driven by the expectation of a tighter monetary policy. The DXY dollar index rose 0.3 percent. Oil prices fell slightly. Leading oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia are considering, according to informed sources, suspending their recent efforts to supply the world with more crude oil. The reason is that the US and other countries have announced that they will release part of their oil reserves in order to lower prices. Meanwhile, US crude oil inventories rose unexpectedly. The gold price has remained stable after having recently been under pressure due to rising market interest rates.