US close: Stocks mixed after jobless claims fall

US stocks were in a mixed state at the close on Thursday, as investors mulled the latest initial jobless claims figures.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.09% at 36,124.23, while the S&P 500 gained 0.42% to 4,680.06 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.81% to 15,940.31.

Those moves came after Wednesday’s record highs, when the US Federal Reserve said the economy was strong enough for it to start tapering its pandemic bond buying programme.

“In line with our base case, the Fed announced it will reduce the monthly QE buying pace by $15bn per month starting from mid-November,” said Danske Bank.

“This means that QE is concluded in June.”

Danske did note that the Fed introduced some flexibility by saying the tapering pace could be adjusted if needed.

“We think the balance of risk is tilted towards a higher tapering pace, although it is not our base case.”

On the corporate front, Regeneron lost 0.69%, Kellogg was down 0.68%, Uber slipped 0.98% and Square was off 1.99%, while Qualcomm surged 12.73% as the earnings reports kept rolling ashore.

In macroeconomic news, the latest data from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims fell by 14,000 to 269,000 in the week ended 30 October, hitting their lowest level since 14 March 2020.

Analysts had been expecting a figure of 275,000.

Investors were also waiting on the monthly non-farm payrolls report due out the next day.

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $90.54 2.10%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $175.44 1.70%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $308.04 1.70%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $253.46 1.22%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $372.36 0.87%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $151.28 0.73%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $336.44 0.73%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $49.51 0.57%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $56.60 0.55%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $113.51 0.44%

Dow Jones - Fallers

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $120.85 -4.94%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $57.17 -3.18%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $408.07 -2.35%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $156.50 -2.34%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.85 -2.06%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $214.94 -1.47%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $168.29 -1.31%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $57.12 -0.92%
3M Co. (MMM) $180.61 -0.89%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $150.96 -0.35%

S&P 500 - Risers

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $156.11 12.73%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $13.72 12.64%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $298.01 12.04%
Parker-Hannifin Corp. (PH) $325.64 7.09%
Ansys Inc. (ANSS) $409.97 6.52%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $137.50 5.34%
Apache Corp. (APA) $29.08 5.25%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $150.13 5.17%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $192.91 4.75%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $19.42 4.24%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $37.08 -13.95%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $154.46 -13.28%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $35.56 -11.10%
Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc (ZBH) $137.75 -7.39%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $54.94 -7.23%
Allstate Corp (The) (ALL) $117.10 -7.15%
Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $71.81 -5.67%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $120.85 -4.94%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $108.07 -4.59%
HollyFrontier Corp (HFC) $32.42 -4.37%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $156.11 12.73%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $298.01 12.04%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $150.13 5.17%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $192.91 4.75%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $82.92 3.95%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $409.08 3.91%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $179.56 3.81%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $318.97 3.44%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $198.14 3.43%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $598.93 2.98%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $8.22 -27.39%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $37.08 -13.95%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $54.94 -7.23%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $108.07 -4.59%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $28.12 -4.45%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $28.10 -4.23%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $75.60 -3.26%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $157.55 -2.90%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $668.40 -2.89%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $91.10 -2.55%