US benchmark equity indexes experienced a decline on Thursday as investors grappled with a notable increase in jobless claims, alongside Nvidia's reported revenue that was the smallest beat in the last two years. Furthermore, President Donald Trump announced a strategy to impose import levies affecting three of the nation's primary trading partners. In his statements, Trump confirmed that his administration would advance with the implementation of import duties on Mexico and Canada in the coming week.
He specified that China would also face an additional 10% tariff starting from that date, as he communicated via his Truth Social account. Tariffs of 25% are set for Mexico and Canada from March 4, with energy exports from Canada likely to experience a 10% levy directed to the US. The latest data from the US Department of Labor indicated that initial jobless claims surged to 242,000 for the week ending February 22, a rise from the upwardly revised figure of 220,000.
This growth outpaced estimates that anticipated claims to reach only 221,000, based on a survey conducted by Bloomberg. Additionally, the four-week moving average escalated by 8,500, climbing to 224,000. In the energy sector, April West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices increased by $1.60, settling at $70.22 per barrel, while April Brent crude, regarded as the global benchmark, rose by $1.39 to reach $73.92.
This movement in crude prices followed President Trump's revocation of Chevron's license to export Venezuelan crude oil, which could have significant implications for the market. Reports surfaced indicating that the cancellation of Chevron's license may pave the way for a new agreement between Chevron and the state-owned oil company PDVSA, allowing for the export of crude oil to markets outside the US.
Following this news, Chevron's shares observed a rise of 1.3%. In the tech arena, Nvidia announced improved results for its fiscal Q4 that outpaced analyst expectations. However, this positive news was overshadowed as shares plummeted nearly 8%. Analysts pointed out that, while Nvidia had exceeded consensus estimates, the magnitude of the beat was modest, providing little in the way of guidance, which failed to meet the elevated expectations cultivated over the previous two years.
A report from Deutsche Bank highlighted that the revenue beat was the smallest seen in two years, causing disillusionment among investors who had anticipated more substantial surprises. Moreover, Nvidia’s forward sales guidance for the current quarter was only marginally above the average estimate, further contributing to market concerns..