US close: Dow dips ahead of non-farm payrolls
US stock indices lost a sliver of ground on Thursday, squeezed between Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen's gently chilling reminder that a December rate hike remained a possibility and Friday's looming non-farm payroll report.
Perhaps influenced by the concerns expressed by the Bank of England about global growth prospects, which sent London stocks sliding down to a finish in the red and the pound plunging against the dollar, Wall Street's first major move was a lurch lower, with the rest of the session seeing repeated bounces lose momentum.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished almost flat, down 0.02% at 17,863.43, while the S&P 500 fell 0.11% to 2,099.93 and the Nasdaq declined 0.31%.
New York traders still had Yellen's Wednesday comments on their minds. “At this point, I see the US economy as performing well […],” she told the House financial services committee. “Domestic spending has been growing at a solid pace and if the data continue to point to growth and firmer prices, a December rate hike would be a live possibility.”
This gentle reminder was somewhat banished by data that, according to Barclays analysts, continued to point to "solid labor market conditions".
The Department of Labor reported new claims rose by 16,000 to a two-month high of 276,000 in the week to 31 October, compared with analysts' expectations for a 260,000 reading.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics gauge of non-farm labour productivity - indicating how much each worker can produce in an hour - grew at 1.6% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to September beating expectations for a 0.1%.
That was driven by a 1.2% increase in output, although the number of hours worked dropped 0.5%.
All eyes on Friday will be on the non-farm payrolls (NFP) report for October, which is expected to show an increased by 182,000 in October, a touch below the year-to-date average but a step up from September's rise of 142,000, a six-month low.
The unemployment rate is forecast to decrease by 0.1 percentage point to 5.0%, while average hourly earnings growth is expected to have accelerated from the rate of 2.2% year-on-year recorded in September.
Facebook and Ralph Lauren impress
In company news, Facebook gained strongly after the social media giant’s quarterly results beat expectations overnight.
Going the other way, chip giant Qualcomm tumbled after its profit guidance for the current quarter disappointed, while Whole Foods Market softened after its earnings fell short of estimates.
Polo-badged fashion label Ralph Lauren galloped higher after its quarterly results beat estimates, while brewer Molson Coors frothed after a swung to a profit during the last quarter.
SeaWorld tumbled after its profit was dented by an ongoing public image battle.
Chevron and Exxon both seeped lower, tracking further oil price slumps, with West Texas Intermediate sliding 2% to $45.3, while Brent crude fell 1% to $48.1 a barrel.
S&P 500 - Risers
Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $130.50 +14.83%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $63.49 +9.79%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $15.49 +6.10%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $12.28 +5.32%
Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) $101.59 +4.69%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $108.76 +4.64%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $8.45 +4.06%
Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) $20.73 +3.91%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $35.38 +3.81%
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $52.58 +3.36%
S&P 500 - Fallers
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $51.07 -15.25%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $51.70 -14.53%
Teradata Corp. (TDC) $25.58 -14.13%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $46.81 -9.56%
AES Corp. (AES) $9.88 -8.69%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $15.47 -8.19%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $17.50 -7.94%
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $31.37 -6.53%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $10.39 -6.06%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $16.51 -5.33%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $116.23 +1.39%
Visa Inc. (V) $79.26 +1.16%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $131.86 +1.15%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $66.44 +0.90%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.33 +0.86%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $64.81 +0.84%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $100.80 +0.47%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $58.61 +0.41%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $112.85 +0.40%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $102.33 +0.38%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $94.55 -2.29%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $84.81 -1.36%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $139.89 -1.23%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $120.92 -0.89%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $76.39 -0.87%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $55.05 -0.86%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $74.22 -0.44%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.00 -0.44%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $113.00 -0.22%
American Express Co. (AXP) $73.93 -0.19%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $63.49 +9.79%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $3.71 +8.80%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $108.76 +4.64%
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $52.58 +3.36%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $41.23 +2.51%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $655.65 +2.29%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $13.31 +2.07%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $37.20 +1.58%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $52.54 +1.39%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $53.48 +1.36%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $51.07 -15.25%
Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $109.75 -6.70%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $16.51 -5.33%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $120.46 -5.28%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $44.79 -3.84%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $154.75 -2.71%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $29.51 -2.61%
Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) $121.06 -2.46%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $121.91 -2.39%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $81.80 -2.39%