US close: Wall St on the back foot for first time since Friday
US stocks took a back step on Thursday for the first time in the week amid softer oil prices and mixed earnings and economic data.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.63% lower at 17,982.52, the S&P 500 down by 0.52% to 2,091.48, but the Nasdaq composite was almost flat at 4,945.89, losing only 0.05%.
In Europe, major indices apart from those of London and France recovered from earlier weakness after the European Central Bank left interest rates and monetary policy unchanged, as widely expected, with chief Mario Draghi reiterating his commitment to using all the instruments available to get inflation back to target.
Oil prices were in the red in choppy trade, with front-month West Texas Intermediate down 1.7% to $43.43 a barrel and Brent crude down 1.04% to $44.76.
On the corporate front, Qualcomm shares were also lower after the chipmaker’s profit forecast missed expectations, sending Dow heavyweight Apple lower ahead of its own delayed results announcement next Tuesday. Qualcomm's earnings sent worrying messages about demand for Apple's iPhones that follow several of the tech giant's suppliers in recent weeks.
Verizon Communications fell into the red after the telecoms group's quarterly revenue disappointed even though earnings hit forecast, as it warned a strike by workers was likely to hurt earnings in the current quarter.
It was surpassed among Dow fallers by Travelers Company where first-quarter profits declined 17% as the insurer cited wind and hail storms in Texas for battering results, sending operating earnings down to $2.33 a share, from $2.53 a year ago and missing forecasts of $2.55.
On the upside, American Express was in the black after its first-quarter figures topped analysts’ expectations.
General Motors also rallied after it said first-quarter net income more than doubled compared with the previous year, while Biogen Inc rose after posting better-than-expected first-quarter profit.
Economic news was also mixed.
The latest report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed manufacturing conditions in the region deteriorated a lot more than expected in April.
The diffusion index for current activity tumbled to -1.6 from 12.4 in March, versus economists’ expectations for a slip to 8.9.
March had marked the first positive reading following six consecutive negative readings.
The index for current new orders fell to zero from 15.7, while the index for current shipments declined even more sharply, to -10.8 from 22.1.
Data from the Labor Department was a lot more encouraging, however, showing the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, to the lowest level since November 1973.
US initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 247,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 253,000, versus expectations for a rise 263,000.
The four-week moving average of new claims was 260,500, down 4,500 from the previous week’s unrevised 265,000.
Pantheon Macroeconomics said the jobless number was "as spectacular as the Philly Fed was awful", though while both were plausible, an early Easter was felt to be distorting the seasonal adjustments.
"Behind all the noise, we think the underlying trend is still running in the low 270s, consistent with at robust 200K-plus trend in payrolls."
S&P 500 - Risers
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $42.56 +13.86%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $31.83 +12.00%
United Rentals Inc. (URI) $64.87 +7.86%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UA) $46.93 +6.78%
Tyco International Plc (TYC) $38.84 +5.95%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $32.19 +5.71%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $102.54 +5.54%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $279.60 +5.16%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $94.34 +4.74%
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $64.70 +4.73%
S&P 500 - Fallers
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) $52.76 -9.97%
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) $202.60 -7.03%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $11.52 -6.80%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $108.79 -6.05%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $31.13 -5.78%
Robert Half International Inc. (RHI) $43.29 -5.62%
Rockwell Collins Inc. (COL) $89.12 -5.18%
PPG Industries Inc. (PPG) $110.26 -5.01%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $31.39 -4.30%
Ventas Inc. (VTR) $59.69 -4.30%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $149.30 +2.18%
American Express Co. (AXP) $65.61 +0.91%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $60.08 +0.77%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $65.09 +0.56%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $55.78 +0.34%
Boeing Co. (BA) $130.74 +0.13%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $56.60 +0.04%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $33.24 +0.03%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $108.79 -6.05%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $50.03 -3.32%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $125.79 -2.15%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $43.66 -1.60%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $78.66 -1.35%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $105.97 -1.08%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $68.47 -1.07%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $63.60 -1.00%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $165.32 -0.99%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $80.80 -0.92%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $42.56 +13.86%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $31.83 +12.00%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $279.60 +5.16%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $94.34 +4.74%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $84.03 +4.36%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $144.95 +3.92%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $86.81 +3.21%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $91.99 +3.00%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $109.92 +2.99%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $161.38 +2.76%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $31.13 -5.78%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $29.53 -3.97%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $40.01 -3.03%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $41.90 -2.94%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $47.21 -2.44%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $80.82 -2.24%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $84.22 -2.14%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $52.29 -2.06%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $94.98 -1.85%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $49.97 -1.83%