US close: Stocks rise for second day despite mixed signals
After a choppy session, US stocks finished on the front foot for the second day, with traders weighing unpredictable oil prices, worse than expected initial jobless claims, durable goods and factory orders but a sharply retreating dollar.
Also, while London finishing on a high, the European Union cut its economic growth forecasts for 2016 due to the emerging market slowdown.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49% at 16,416.58, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite crawled 0.15% and 0.12% higher respectively.
The dollar was down by close to 1% against both the yen and euro but cable was close to flat.
Initial jobless claims rose 8,000 to 285,000 in the week to 30 January, according to the Labor Department, which was worse that the 278,000 claims analysts had been expecting.
“It's still too early to know for sure that the trend in claims has risen, but it is starting to look that way,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
“We thought the seasonals pointed to a modest dip this week, but claims rose instead.”
The data comes after Wednesday's ADP’s private payrolls report that showed US employers added more than expected jobs in January. The official monthly non-farm payrolls figures on Friday are forecast to reveal the US added 190,000 jobs in January.
The Federal Reserve is keeping a watch on the health of the labor market as it decides when to next raise interest rates.
Meanwhile, data revealed US factory orders fell 2.9% in December, more than the 2.8% drop expected by analysts and compared to the previous month’s 0.7% decline.
US durable goods orders also fell short of forecasts in December, declining 5% compared to a drop of 5.1% in November and analysts’ estimates for a 4.5% decrease.
On a more upbeat note for markets, oil prices moved shakily higher amid reports of potential talks between global oil producers to curb the supply glut, before losing momentum later. Venezuela's oil minister Eulogio del Pino told Iranian news agency Shana on Wednesday that six producing countries including OPEC members Iran and Iraq and non-members Russia and Oman, supported a meeting.
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.6% to $31.76 per barrel and Brent decreased 1.6% to $34.48 per barrel just after the US stock market session closed.
In company news, shares in GoPro plunged after the company posted a fourth quarter loss and gave a forecast that fell short of expectations.
Ralph Lauren stock looked pretty pony as the Polo-branded clothing group cut its sales forecast for the year due to the strong US dollar, with revenues expected to decline 3% compared to previous forecast for flat sales.
Likewise, department store chain Kohl's cut its full-year earnings forecast due to weak sales in the holiday quarter.
Yahoo advanced after the company was upgraded to buy from neutral/high risk at Citi on the potential for a buyout.
S&P 500 - Risers
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $5.72 +17.94%
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $2.79 +12.50%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.31 +10.07%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $43.53 +9.84%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $4.59 +9.81%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $8.24 +9.43%
Ryder System Inc. (R) $56.71 +9.16%
Rowan Companies plc (RDC) $12.78 +9.14%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $10.19 +8.98%
Teradata Corp. (TDC) $25.58 +7.98%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $89.95 -22.16%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $41.52 -18.80%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $35.32 -8.57%
L Brands Inc (LB) $88.57 -6.93%
Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE) $246.09 -6.46%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $47.43 -6.13%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $34.94 -6.08%
MetLife Inc. (MET) $39.75 -5.24%
Snap On Inc. (SNA) $145.15 -5.22%
Clorox Co. (CLX) $124.71 -4.87%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $65.96 +4.25%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $88.12 +2.51%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $156.49 +2.50%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $127.65 +2.35%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $23.54 +1.90%
General Electric Co. (GE) $29.18 +1.78%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $58.40 +1.72%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $79.83 +1.72%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.77 +1.47%
Boeing Co. (BA) $123.61 +1.43%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $60.17 -3.71%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $48.59 -2.92%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $29.00 -2.26%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $121.11 -2.16%
Visa Inc. (V) $73.68 -0.94%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $120.66 -0.67%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $80.70 -0.49%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.53 -0.44%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $50.43 -0.38%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $52.00 -0.31%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $43.53 +9.84%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $76.31 +7.81%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $32.19 +5.47%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $29.15 +5.31%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $24.95 +4.79%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $50.00 +4.62%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $11.23 +4.32%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $72.03 +4.13%
Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $136.12 +3.62%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $45.79 +3.20%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $128.46 -4.79%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $143.37 -4.07%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $76.67 -3.67%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $31.93 -3.59%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $170.50 -3.37%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $38.02 -3.08%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $168.88 -2.64%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $708.01 -2.61%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $730.03 -2.58%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $143.28 -2.33%