[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Snowflake, a cloud-based database company and this year's most anticipated initial public offering (IPO), made a spectacular debut on the stock market.
Amid the sluggish performance of tech stocks, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices closed lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw only a slight increase. The Federal Reserve's (Fed) announcement to maintain near-zero interest rates for an extended period had no effect.
On the 16th (current time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow rose 36.78 points (0.13%) to close at 28,032.38, the S&P 500 fell 15.71 points (0.46%) to 3,385.49, and the Nasdaq dropped 139.85 points (1.25%) to 11,050.47.
That day, the Fed concluded its last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting before the U.S. presidential election and decided to keep interest rates at zero. Additionally, through the dot plot, it emphasized the intention to maintain rates until 2023 and incorporated the introduction of an average inflation targeting policy into its statement.
Chairman Powell also expressed the intention to continue asset purchases at the current pace, but the market showed dissatisfaction with the Fed's lack of a more aggressive stance. This was evident as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 experienced larger declines following Powell's remarks.
The Fed's concerns were also reflected in August retail sales. The Commerce Department reported that August retail sales increased by only 0.6% compared to the previous month, falling short of the Dow Jones consensus forecast of a 1.1% increase.
Among individual stocks, Snowflake's rise was remarkable. Snowflake, which was listed that day, surged 110%. Following a previous surge during the pricing process, it attracted investors' attention from the first day of trading.
In contrast, Apple fell 2.9%, Facebook 3.27%, Microsoft 1.79%, and Tesla 1.78%, with most major tech stocks declining.
International oil prices were strong due to hurricane impacts. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed at $40.16 per barrel, up 4.9% ($1.88), and gold closed at $1,970.50 per ounce, up 0.22% ($4.30).
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