US close: Santa rally over as stocks finish weaker

US stocks reversed earlier gains to end their Santa rally by the close on Thursday, as investors digested the latest jobless claims.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session down 0.25% at 36,398.08, while the S&P 500 lost 0.3% to 4,778.73 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.16% at 15,741.56.

“Market sentiment continues to straddle fears of near-term Covid restrictions and expectations of a swift recovery, with value and growth names fluctuating as a result,” said IG senior market analyst Joshua Mahony earlier.

“Nonetheless, the move towards higher rates and higher yields should bring a rare period of outperformance for value names once the Omicron wave starts to subside.”

On the economic front, the Labor Department reported initial jobless claims of 198,000 for the week ended 25 December, below expectations of 208,000, but still strong.

The reading followed last week's print of 206,000, which was revised up from 205,000.

Continuous jobless claims dropped sharply to 1.716 million in the week ended 18 December - well below expectations for a small rise to 1.868 million from the previous week's 1.856 million, itself revised down from 1.859 million.

The insured unemployment rate fell to 1.3% from 1.4% in the prior week, while the four-week moving average was 199,250, a decrease of 7,250 from the previous week's revised average.

That made for the lowest level since 25 October 1969, when it was 199,250.

The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 206,250 to 206,500, the Department of Labor said.

"Today brought a rare data point worth considering, with unemployment claims dropping back below the 200,000 threshold for just the third time in 22 months,” IG’s Joshua Mahony added.

“Next week brings the latest US jobs report, with traders keeping an eye out for signs that the Omicron wave is having a detrimental impact on the economic recovery.

“Nonetheless, the lack of any pop in jobless claims today does highlight how things appear relatively stable in the face of rising Covid cases.”

In equities, Biogen slid 7.09% after Samsung denied a Korean media report that the US biotechnology play was in talks to sell itself to the company.

Royal Caribbean Cruises was 1.11% weaker and Carnival was off 1.25%, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned Americans not to travel on cruise ships amid the Omicron wave, even if they were vaccinated.

Tesla lost 1.46% for its third straight session of declines, as the electric vehicle giant recalled another 356,000 Model 3 cars due to problems with the rear-vision cameras.

It was the 10th recall the carmaker had issued in the United States in 2021.

On the upside, Kroger was 0.96% firmer after America’s largest grocer announced a share buyback worth $1bn.

Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Global jumped 5.87%, despite the company reporting a fall in third-quarter revenue before markets opened.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $155.93 0.68%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $172.31 0.44%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $133.91 0.42%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $143.17 0.32%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $255.33 0.31%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $77.14 0.25%
American Express Co. (AXP) $164.07 0.20%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $158.48 -0.05%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $162.77 -0.86%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $339.32 -0.77%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $167.49 -0.76%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $178.20 -0.66%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $206.08 -0.60%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $63.62 -0.53%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $51.99 -0.50%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $226.57 -0.50%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $56.78 -0.49%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $267.21 -0.48%

S&P 500 - Risers

Twitter Inc (TWTR) $44.46 3.98%
Discovery Inc. Class C (DISCK) $23.69 2.55%
Discovery Inc. Class A (DISCA) $24.45 2.43%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $76.64 2.04%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $42.43 1.80%
Target Corp. (TGT) $231.91 1.75%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $384.09 1.69%
AES Corp. (AES) $24.14 1.64%
Macerich Co (MAC) $17.54 1.62%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $61.59 1.60%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $240.00 -7.09%
Apache Corp. (APA) $27.06 -3.05%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $21.02 -2.59%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $71.88 -2.55%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $93.89 -2.37%
Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $19.55 -2.30%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $145.15 -2.10%
Arconic Inc. (ARNC) $32.84 -2.00%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $359.78 -1.90%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $39.21 -1.88%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $150.61 10.50%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $103.75 8.92%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $24.76 8.26%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $70.40 7.27%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,356.46 2.49%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $76.64 2.04%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $384.09 1.69%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $100.99 1.52%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $86.15 1.38%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $662.22 1.36%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $240.00 -7.09%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $93.89 -2.37%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $182.73 -1.86%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $157.98 -1.86%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $427.08 -1.84%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $116.52 -1.76%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $213.89 -1.71%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $28.25 -1.53%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $1,070.34 -1.46%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $295.86 -1.38%