Stock Market Today: Dow Claws Higher on a Bumpy Day of Trading
Stocks put up mixed results Thursday as Wall Street absorbed a major Fed policy shift, high jobless claims and a new rapid COVID-19 test.


Wall Street seesawed its way through news-heavy Thursday trading that pushed and pulled on various parts of the market.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced a shift in policy, following a two-year review, that will see the Fed target 2% average inflation over time by allowing for periods of hotter inflation, rather than managing the 2% level tightly.
"The key to near-term monetary policy will be all about the Fed's dual mandate, but with one mandate being the target (employment) and one being the governor on how far the central bank is willing to go (inflation), but now with a greater willingness to press on employment gains, even with modestly above 2% inflation rates for some time," says Rick Rieder, BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Also Thursday, the Labor Department reported last week's first-time unemployment claims exceeded 1 million for the 22nd time in 23 weeks. And the fight to contain COVID-19 was helped a bit by the FDA's emergency-use authorization of Abbott Laboratories' (ABT, +7.9%) cheap, quick and accurate antigen test.
In a choppy session of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly eclipsed the 28,538 level it started 2020 at before settling at 28,492, a 0.6% gain. The Dow was helped by gains in Walmart (WMT, +4.6%) and Microsoft (MSFT, +2.5%), who are making a bid for the U.S., Canadian, Australian and New Zealand operations of popular social app TikTok.
Other action in the stock market today:
- The S&P 500 managed to eke out another record close, finishing 0.2% higher to 3,484.
- The Russell 2000 gained 0.3% to 1,564.
- The Nasdaq Composite was more subdued, losing 0.3% to 11,625.
Sluggish Employment Gains Might Come to Back to Bite Stocks
The Fed announcement and the Labor Department's data both underscored one of the biggest threats to the rally: a struggling labor market.
"This elevated number of people filing for unemployment benefits speaks volumes about the uncertainty businesses are facing," says Luke Lloyd, investment strategist at Cleveland-based Strategic Wealth Partners. "Without clarity on how the coronavirus will progress over the next few months, companies don't invest in growth areas and operate with a skeleton staff."
"The Fed's policy actions this year and the new strategy statement are clearly reflective of a Committee that is deeply committed to recovering the hard-won gains in jobs and growth, which the pandemic has since stripped away," Rieder says.
Buy-and-hold investors who are hunkered down in high-quality dividend payers with a long shelf life don't really need to sweat a shorter-term cool-off. But if you're a little more active, you know it doesn't hurt to occasionally take some chips off the table.
You might consider trimming any of these 18 stocks that the market is heavily betting against (although some risk-tolerant opportunists like to buy these stocks for the "short squeezes" that happen when the bears are wrong). But you also might want to examine some of the stocks Wall Street's "smart money" has been souring on.
Billionaires, hedge funds and other institutional money managers were feverishly selling during 2020's second quarter, and recent filings show which stocks they bailed on. We examined 25 stocks the billionaire set sold in Q2 2020 to see where there's reason for concern, and where the pros are simply cashing in on outsized gains.
Kyle Woodley was long MSFT as of this writing.
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
Kyle Woodley is the Editor-in-Chief of WealthUp, a site dedicated to improving the personal finances and financial literacy of people of all ages. He also writes the weekly The Weekend Tea newsletter, which covers both news and analysis about spending, saving, investing, the economy and more.
Kyle was previously the Senior Investing Editor for Kiplinger.com, and the Managing Editor for InvestorPlace.com before that. His work has appeared in several outlets, including Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, Barchart, The Globe & Mail and the Nasdaq. He also has appeared as a guest on Fox Business Network and Money Radio, among other shows and podcasts, and he has been quoted in several outlets, including MarketWatch, Vice and Univision. He is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a BA in journalism.
You can check out his thoughts on the markets (and more) at @KyleWoodley.
-
Is Trump's Tax Plan Speeding Up the Looming Social Security Funding Crisis?
Social Security Social Security's combined retirement funds are running out of cash, and its insolvency date is expected to occur in less than a decade.
-
How to Keep Your Work Friends After You Retire
Work friendships can boost teamwork, lift your spirits, and make the job more fun. But when you retire, these friendships can fade. Here's a look at why that happens and what you can do about it.
-
Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: Are These 5 Stocks Too Overvalued to Buy Now?
Investors worried about missing the boat on overvalued stocks need not fret. These five names, while expensive, are still seeing lots of love from analysts.
-
Dow Rips 846 Points to New All-Time High: Stock Market Today
Fed Chair Jerome Powell seems ready to cut interest rates in the fall but will still rely on incoming economic data about inflation and employment.
-
S&P 500 Extends Losing Streak Ahead of Powell Speech: Stock Market Today
Stocks continued to struggle ahead of Fed Chair Powell's Friday morning speech at Jackson Hole.
-
Tech Sells Off While Trump Stirs the Fed: Stock Market Today
We've reached another important part of earnings season, though markets remain captivated by the president, the Fed, and interest rate policy.
-
Dow Retreats From a Record High: Stock Market Today
Quietly rising since April, Home Depot stock was conspicuously constructive Tuesday as high-profile tech names dragged equity indexes down.
-
Stocks Struggle Ahead of Busy Fed Week: Stock Market Today
The minutes from the July Fed meeting will be released Wednesday, while Chair Powell will deliver a key speech at Jackson Hole on Friday.
-
Dow Hits New Intraday High: Stock Market Today
Value-hunters with big stakes in a particular component kept one of the main U.S. equity indexes in positive territory.
-
What Tariffs Mean for Your Sector Exposure
New, higher and changing tariffs will ripple through the economy and into share prices for many quarters to come.