US open: Slight pull-back for stocks ahead of monthly jobs report

Wall Street was trading on a slightly mixed note following the release of a weaker-than-expected reading on service sector activity in the US for July and ahead of the monthly US non-farm payrolls report the next day.

At 1621 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was edging higher by 0.01% or 1.67 points at 22,018, alongside a 0.24% or 6.03 point dip lower in the S&P 500 while the Nasdaq Composite was slipping by 0.28% or 18.07 points to 6,344.57.

On Wednesday, the Dow pushed through the 22,000 mark for the first time as shares in tech giant Apple hit a record high following well-received third-quarter numbers.

From a sector standpoint, the worst performing areas of the market were: Water (-2.08%), Electronic Office Equipment (-1.93%) and Gas Distribution (-1.60%).

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: "The Dow Jones has reached yet another record high today as the bullish sentiment can't be stopped. The market pushed higher as the ISM non-manufacturing report for July dipped to 53.9, from 57.4 in June.

"The slowdown in activity is a signal to traders the Federal Reserve are less likely to press ahead with another interest rate increase this year."

Growth in services activity in the States slowed last month amid flattening levels of activity across multiple sectors, according to the results of one of the most widely-followed surveys for the sector.

According to economists at Barclays, the data showed how the post-election surge in sentiment had now been fully washed-out.

The Institute for Supply Management's service sector purchasing managers' index slipped from a reading of 57.4 for June to 53.9 in July. In October 2016 the PMI stood at 54.6.

Economists had anticipated a reading of 56.8.

Thursday's data sent the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note down by three basis points to 2.24%, a near one-month low.

Initial unemployment claims decreased by 5,000 to reach 240,000 during the week ending on 29 July, according to the Department of Labor, as expected.

Meanwhile, factory orders increased by 3.0% on the month in June (consensus: 2.9%), the Department of Commerce said.

Non-farm payrolls data scheduled for release the next day was expected to reveal that 183,000 new jobs had been created.

In corporate news, electric car maker Tesla was up 6.84% after it reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss late on Wednesday and said it was averaging more than 1,800 net reservations a day for its new Model 3.

Kellogg was another top-gainer on the heels of better-than-expected top and bottom line figures for its second quarter with sales coming in at $3.19bn versus the analyst consensus for $3.15bn.

Allergan was also on the up as investors cheered upwardly revised full-year EPS guidance from the drug manufacturer.

Stock in Yum! Brands fell despite the company having posted a 2.0% rise in like-for-like sales for the second quarter, which was ahead of the 1.8% gain analysts had anticipated.

Avon Products was sent sharply lower by news its chief Sheri McCoy was stepping down amid pressure from activist investors as the company attempted to turn itself around.

Meanwhile, American International Group drifted lower despite posting a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit late on Wednesday.

Dow Jones - Risers

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $33.41 1.49%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $151.50 0.66%
American Express Co. (AXP) $85.84 0.63%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $91.59 0.60%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.85 0.57%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $60.13 0.57%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $80.93 0.50%
3M Co. (MMM) $206.34 0.45%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.42 0.44%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $145.05 0.42%

Dow Jones - Fallers

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $81.38 -1.14%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.26 -1.05%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $154.98 -1.03%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $92.36 -0.81%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $156.09 -0.67%
Visa Inc. (V) $100.77 -0.50%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $110.00 -0.42%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $72.02 -0.33%
Boeing Co. (BA) $237.37 -0.24%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $225.83 -0.19%

S&P 500 - Risers

Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $9.56 10.83%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $13.07 8.11%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $12.95 7.56%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $81.33 6.99%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $30.21 5.19%
Kellogg Co. (K) $70.72 4.86%
Macerich Co (MAC) $58.02 4.45%
Cincinnati Financial Corp. (CINF) $80.39 4.13%
Macy's Inc. (M) $23.92 3.24%
Clorox Co. (CLX) $135.90 2.98%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $14.17 -16.89%
Amerisource Bergen Corp. (ABC) $81.50 -10.73%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $39.46 -9.65%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $21.90 -7.75%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $26.41 -6.15%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $35.03 -5.11%
TEGNA Inc (TGNA) $13.31 -4.89%
Apache Corp. (APA) $45.63 -4.76%
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (LVLT) $56.64 -4.42%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $10.10 -4.17%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $347.53 6.64%
CA Inc. (CA) $31.75 2.93%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $63.21 2.86%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $119.09 1.93%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $56.81 1.74%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $34.64 1.61%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $88.93 1.47%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $48.84 1.45%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $224.69 1.23%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $68.20 1.13%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $39.46 -9.65%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $35.03 -5.11%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $27.80 -2.92%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $111.94 -2.87%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $162.44 -2.79%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $153.29 -2.71%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $19.15 -2.40%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $102.21 -2.13%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $62.76 -1.93%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $158.20 -1.91%