US close: Stocks fall ahead of Trump's inauguration
US stocks closed in the red on Thursday as investors exercised caution ahead of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.37% to 19,732.40 points, the S&P 500 slid 0.36% to 2,263.69 points and the Nasdaq declined 0.28% to 5,540.08 points.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose, even as the Energy Information Administration reported an unexpected increase in US weekly crude inventories. US commercial crude inventories rose by 2.3m barrels in the week through 13 January to 485.5m barrels.
American Petroleum Institute data released on Wednesday showed US crude stocks fell 5.04m barrels last week, exceeding expectations for a 342,000-barrel drop.
West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.46% to $51.32 per barrel and Brent edged up 0.51% to $54.20 per barrel at 2114 GMT.
The market is looking ahead to Trump’s inauguration as US President on Friday with the focus on whether the new leader will deliver on promises such as ramping up infrastructure spending and cutting taxes.
Schroders’ chief economist Keith Wade said: “Investors have fully bought into Trump’s promise to 'make America great again': activity will be stronger and trade deals more favourable to the US. Inflation and interest rates are heading higher.
However, Wade said the impact of the new president’s fiscal policies will not be felt until end-2017 and into 2018. “There are some tricky waters to be navigated before they take effect,” he said.
Traders were also digesting remarks from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, who on Wednesday said she expects interest rates to rise a few times a year until the end of 2019. Yellen is due to speak again after the close at Stanford University, covering the economic outlook and monetary policy.
On the data front, US initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell to 234,000 in the week to 14 January from 249,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said. Economists had predicted a rise to 251,000 claims.
US housing starts rose 11.3% month-on-month to 1.226m units, beating expectations for a smaller 8.6% increase to 1.184m units, the Commerce Department revealed.
Building permits slipped 0.2% in December from a month ago, surprising analysts who had expected a 1.1% rise.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing survey index rose to 23.6 from a downwardly-revised 19.7 in December, comfortably beating expectations for a drop to 16.0 from December’s initial estimate of 21.5.
In company news, Netflix Inc. shares jumped after the streaming video group posted quarterly results on Wednesday that beat analysts’ expectations.
CSX Corp. rallied on the back of news that railroad-industry veteran Hunter Harrison is collaborating with an activist investor in a bid to shake up the railroad operator’s management.
Navient Crop was on the back foot after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit against the student loan services company on claims it was mistreating borrowers.
American Express Co. and IBM are due to report their results after the close.
Dow Jones - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $158.67 0.61%
Boeing Co. (BA) $158.99 0.43%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $110.70 0.28%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.36 0.21%
Visa Inc. (V) $81.73 0.17%
3M Co. (MMM) $178.68 0.11%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $93.38 0.05%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $166.81 0.01%
General Electric Co. (GE) $31.21 -0.06%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $29.98 -0.17%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $84.73 -1.80%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $60.33 -1.37%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $231.41 -1.23%
American Express Co. (AXP) $76.69 -1.03%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $31.69 -1.03%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $107.28 -0.81%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $83.31 -0.76%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $67.62 -0.72%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $72.94 -0.68%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $52.93 -0.64%
S&P 500 - Risers
CSX Corp. (CSX) $45.51 23.40%
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) $114.42 4.05%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $138.41 3.86%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $22.48 3.74%
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $48.12 3.42%
Coca-Cola European Partners Limited (CCE) $33.85 2.67%
Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) $106.24 2.38%
L3 Technologies Inc (LLL) $151.91 2.30%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $105.16 2.15%
Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) $58.43 2.11%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $6.61 -5.16%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $33.22 -4.92%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $94.36 -3.74%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $60.15 -3.57%
Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI) $15.67 -3.33%
Newell Brands Inc (NWL) $45.98 -3.30%
Western Union Co. (WU) $21.13 -3.30%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $42.91 -3.11%
Bank Of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) $44.84 -3.01%
Sysco Corp. (SYY) $53.62 -2.95%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
CSX Corp. (CSX) $45.51 23.40%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $96.34 7.51%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $138.41 3.86%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $60.07 2.40%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $243.76 2.27%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $27.75 2.17%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $105.16 2.15%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $117.53 2.12%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $84.53 1.84%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $238.98 1.36%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $21.71 -2.73%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $36.34 -2.42%
Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $18.85 -2.38%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $71.67 -2.14%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $74.79 -2.12%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $275.05 -2.05%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $80.91 -1.95%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $55.67 -1.56%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $29.80 -1.55%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $40.58 -1.55%