Wall Street was spooked on Thursday after Walmart CEO Doug McMillon predicted that deflation, particularly in food prices, would be his company's biggest challenge in the fourth quarter and beyond. His comments came just hours after the Producer Price Index (PPI) showed that wholesale prices fell for the first time in over two years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 46 points, or 0.1%, to close at 34,946. The S&P 500 managed to eke out a gain of 0.1%, closing at 4,508, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% to end at 14,114.

Bonds Rally as Rates Fall

Bonds rose across the board as interest rates fell. The two-year Treasury yield dropped seven basis points to 4.844%, while the twenty-year yield also fell seven ticks to 4.815%.

Gold Bucking the Trend

Gold prices bucked the trend, rising $20 to $1,984 an ounce.

Oil Prices Tumble

Oil prices continued their downward slide, losing $3.66, or nearly 5%, to close at $72.86 a barrel.

Jobless Claims Higher than Expected

Initial Claims for Unemployment came in higher than expectations, suggesting that the labor market has cooled off in recent months. However, the jobless claims numbers tend to be volatile.

Earnings Parade Continues

Six companies reported earnings on Thursday, and all six met or exceeded expectations.

Thin Economic Calendar Next Week

The economic calendar is light next week due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday. However, we do get Existing Home Sales on Tuesday and announcements from the Fed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Jobless Claims will also be released on Wednesday, one day earlier than usual.

Nvidia in Focus

All eyes will be on Nvidia next week as the chipmaker reports earnings. The stock has soared over 600% in the past year, and expectations are high. Wall Street is expecting Nvidia to earn $3.35 per share on revenue of $16.11 billion.

Premium Episode on U.S. Credit Rating

Be sure to check out our premium episode this weekend on the credit rating of the United States. This episode is only available to premium subscribers, but it's worth the $2.99 a month for these four extra episodes.

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