US midday: Stocks mixed as traders monitor impact from Harvey, dollar falls
Stocks are trading on a mixed note with the latest data laying bare the extent of the disruption from Hurricane Harvey to the economy, albeit alongside some potentially mildly encouraging news from the Korean peninsula.
At 1830 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lowr by 0.16% or 36.34 points to 21,770.23, alongside a rise of 0.08% or 5.32 points to 6,398.85 in the Nasdaq Composite and a dip of 0.07% or 1.63 points to 2,463.92 for the S & P 500.
Significantly, bond yields were also lower, with that on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note retreating by five basis points to 2.06%. In parallel, the US dollar spot index was retreating 0.68% to 91.67. That was as Cleveland Fed chief Loretta Mester said the central bank should push ahead with gradual rate hikes, even if that meant it might take "somewhat longer" to bring inflation back towards 2%.
Investors were slightly relieved by a White House proposal to extend the federal government's debt ceiling - which Washington was expected to hit at the end of September - for another three months in order to finance disaster relief measures for stricken populations on the Gulf Coast and in order to allow more time for negotiations on a better fix.
Against that backdrop, according to the US Department of Labor, jobless claims shot higher by 62,000 to 298,000 during the week ending on 2 September, as Hurricane Harvey barreled across the US Gulf Coast.
In parallel, American oil refineries were forced to shutter production, forcing them to operate at just 79.7% of capacity, the Department of Energy reported.
Separately, Labor also said that non-farm productivity was ahead by 1.5% (consensus: 1.0%) during the second quarter of the year, alongside a 0.2% drop in unit labor costs (consensus: 0.6%).
Meanwhile, in all things Korea, overnight Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said his country agreed that further measures against Pyongyang were needed on account of its nuclear ballistic missile programme, albeit while again defending the need for dialogue with that country's dictator.
Back on the corporate front, the best performing sectors were: Gold mining (2.30%), Nonferrous metals (1.83%) and Mining (1.75%).
Eli Lilly was making headlines after it announced its intention to slash 8.3% of its global workforce or 3,500 people.
At the individual level, shares in retailer RH were sharply higher after posting better-than-expected earnings late on Wednesday.
GoPro surged after it announced that it will be profitable in the third quarter on an adjusted basis, but General Mills fell after outlining its financial targets for 2018.
Dow Jones - Risers
Visa Inc. (V) $104.83 1.60%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $74.56 1.59%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $132.43 1.35%
3M Co. (MMM) $204.33 1.13%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $159.68 0.92%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $117.82 0.72%
Boeing Co. (BA) $236.13 0.64%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $46.24 0.62%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $64.31 0.48%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $157.28 0.46%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $96.83 -4.60%
General Electric Co. (GE) $24.00 -3.71%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $114.43 -2.80%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $88.16 -2.16%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $215.36 -1.59%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $46.38 -1.14%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $35.38 -1.08%
American Express Co. (AXP) $84.52 -0.83%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $142.73 -0.76%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $161.19 -0.44%
S&P 500 - Risers
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $81.57 5.87%
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) $62.96 5.16%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $82.32 5.09%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $38.12 3.70%
Mastercard Incorporated (MA) $137.15 3.20%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $45.71 3.16%
Public Storage (PSA) $214.18 3.03%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $30.48 2.97%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $3.87 2.93%
Extra Space Storage (EXR) $81.56 2.73%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) $43.37 -6.81%
XL Group Ltd (XL) $36.24 -5.75%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $471.50 -5.74%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $39.03 -5.20%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $96.83 -4.60%
Navient Corporation (NAVI) $13.17 -4.57%
Assurant Inc. (AIZ) $87.53 -3.89%
General Electric Co. (GE) $24.00 -3.71%
Regions Financial Corp. (RF) $13.14 -3.56%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $25.49 -3.56%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $38.12 3.70%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $30.48 2.97%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $85.15 2.65%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $51.53 2.63%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $65.61 2.52%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $66.75 2.31%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $51.45 2.29%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $232.08 2.25%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $146.31 2.04%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $181.86 1.95%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $471.50 -5.74%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $39.03 -5.20%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $25.49 -3.56%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $27.31 -3.22%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $25.16 -3.12%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $56.11 -2.59%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $20.13 -2.42%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $33.54 -2.39%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $21.36 -2.29%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $32.58 -2.15%