US open: Stocks mixed as investors digest Trump presidency

US stocks were mixed on Thursday as investors digested Donald Trump’s surprising election victory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.55% to 18,692 points, but the S&P 500 declined 0.15% to 2,160.05 points and the Nasdaq was down 1.11% to 5,192.74 points at 1529 GMT.

Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: “Things have taken another turn this Thursday, a downward shift in the European markets countered by a Trump-induced all-time high for the Dow Jones.

“It is perhaps apt that the reaction to Donald Trump’s victory has been so confused, flipping between bombast and baloney much in the same manner as the soon to be president. That’s all well and good for the short-term, especially for those traders looking to benefit from the present volatility. One suspects the seemingly rudderless movements may soon wear thin, however.”

Meanwhile, SpreadCo's David Morrison said: “There’s a real split in the market today. Here we have the Dow and S&P 500 hitting fresh all-time record intra-day highs with the Nasdaq down.

“There appears to be a big rotation going on with financial stocks, energy, materials, industrials are doing well. But anything that could be hurt by a pick-up in inflation (tech like the Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google (FANGs), Apple, telecoms) is being dumped. In other words, investors are betting on a boost from fiscal stimulus and tax cuts as promised by Donald Trump.”

In commodity markets, gold on Comex declined 0.6% to $1,265.90 per troy ounce at 1502 GMT, giving back much of the gains made on Wednesday in the brief Trump-inspired flight to safety.

Oil prices retreated as Brent crude fell 1% to $45.90 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate was down 1.43% to $44.63 at 1504 GMT.

In currency markets, the dollar was up 1.2% against the yen to 106.94, but sank 0.4% against the euro 1.0866.

On the macroeconomic front, figures from the Labor Department showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week.

Initial jobless claims dropped by 11,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level to 254,000, surpassing expectations of a smaller drop to 260,000. This was the 88th consecutive week of initial claims below 300,000 – the longest streak since 1970.

In corporate news, shares in Macy’s increased by 6.41% despite the department store owner’s third-quarter sales and earnings falling short of expectations. It also said it planned to redevelop 50 stores in a joint venture with Brookfield Asset Management.

Macy's earned 17 cents per share, below expectations of 41 cents per share, on revenue of $5.62bn and sales fell 3.3%, more than the 2.8% decline forecast.

Ralph Lauren rose 4.42% as the high-end fashion house's second-quarter profit and sales beat expectations.

Earnings fell to $45m, or 55 cents a share, from $160m, or $1.86 and adjusted earnings per share was $1.90, above the $1.71 consensus. Revenue fell 5.2% to $1.82bn, but beat forecasts of $1.81bn.

Walt Disney and Michael Kors after slated to report earnings after markets close, while the US is to sell £15bn worth of 30-year bonds at 1800 GMT and October’s budget statement will be announced at 1900 GMT.