US open: Stocks mixed following Nvidia earnings, data points

Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Thursday as investors digested a number of data points and earnings from chipmaker Nvidia.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.69% at 39,395.35, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.11% to 5,312.79 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.61% firmer at 16,904.73.

The Dow opened 275.69 points lower on Thursday, extending losses recorded yesterday on the back of minutes from the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee's latest two-day policy meeting.

AI-darling Nvidia posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings after the bell on Wednesday and announcing it would be launching a ten-for-one stock split. Nvidia's Q2 revenue guidance of roughly $28.0bn also beat consensus estimates of $26.61bn.

Also in corporate news, Ralph Lauren traded lower after it reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations on the Street but issued some dour guidance going forward.

On the macro front, Americans lined up for state unemployment benefits at a decelerated clip in the week ended 18 May, according to the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims fell by 8,000 to 215,000, below market expectations for a reading of 220,000 and considerably below elevated levels seen earlier in the month. On the other hand, continuing jobless claims rose by 8,000 week-on-week to 1.79m in the second week of May, the highest level in over a month, and the four-week moving average for initial claims, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, rose by 1,750 to 219,750.

Elsewhere, the Chicago Fed's national activity index fell to -0.23 in April, the lowest reading in three months, compared to a downwardly revised -0.04 in March. Production-related indicators contributed -0.11, down from -0.01 in March, while employment-related indicators contributed -0.02 and the personal consumption and housing category's contribution was -0.07.

On another note, the S&P Global US manufacturing PMI went up to 50.9 in May, rebounding from 50 in April and beating forecasts of 50, according to preliminary estimates. The reading pointed to an overall modest improvement in business conditions in the manufacturing sector, as both output and employment made increasingly positive contributions, while drags from new orders and stocks of purchases components moderated.

Moving on, sales of new single-family houses declined 4.7% month-on-month in April to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 634,000, according to the Census Bureau, following a downwardly revised 665,000 in March and well below forecasts of 680,000. Sales sank in the Northeast, the West and the South, but rose 10% to 88,000 in the Midwest. The median price of new houses sold in the period was $433,500, while the average sales price was $505,700, both above $417,200 and $500,900, respectively, a year earlier.

Still to come, the Kansas Fed's March manufacturing activity index will follow at 1600 BST.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $131.49 0.30%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $431.68 0.27%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $65.41 0.25%
Visa Inc. (V) $275.81 0.08%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $157.64 0.04%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $173.72 0.02%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $167.78 -0.02%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $309.25 -0.05%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $462.07 -0.07%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.69 -2.31%
Boeing Co. (BA) $182.38 -2.09%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $16.19 -1.67%
3M Co. (MMM) $99.81 -1.66%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $262.06 -1.40%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $101.67 -1.31%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $46.92 -1.08%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $327.09 -1.06%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $188.91 -1.04%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $214.95 -0.73%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $1,038.79 9.40%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $75.76 3.02%
Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $168.96 2.90%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $129.78 2.77%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $21.10 2.68%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $223.84 2.61%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $154.26 2.42%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $988.15 2.32%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $207.47 2.24%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $10.59 2.22%

S&P 500 - Fallers

VF Corp. (VFC) $11.39 -7.66%
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $293.83 -7.16%
Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) $10.76 -4.02%
Globe Life Inc. (GL) $82.89 -3.17%
FMC Corp. (FMC) $61.69 -3.04%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.70 -2.86%
Amer Water Works (AWK) $130.00 -2.80%
Medtronic Plc (MDT) $83.38 -2.78%
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $27.17 -2.53%
Dxc Technology Company (DXC) $16.00 -2.47%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $1,038.79 9.40%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $960.46 4.13%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $75.76 3.02%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $129.78 2.77%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $223.84 2.61%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $154.26 2.42%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $988.15 2.32%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $207.47 2.24%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $585.78 2.21%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $96.62 2.06%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $52.58 -3.52%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $219.88 -2.37%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.69 -2.31%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $255.30 -2.23%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $2.74 -2.14%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $32.01 -2.05%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $105.40 -1.85%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $16.19 -1.67%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $96.83 -1.55%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $177.45 -1.47%