US open: Stocks nudge lower as investors digest mixed earnings and data

US stocks were a touch weaker on Thursday as investors sifted through mixed economic and corporate releases, amid softer oil prices.

At 1510 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were all 0.2% lower.

In Europe, the main indices were also in the red 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 weaker in choppy trade, with West Texas Intermediate down 1.5% to $43.50 a barrel and Brent crude down 1.4% to $45. 17.

On the corporate front, Qualcomm shares were lower after the chipmaker’s profit forecast missed expectations, while toy manufacturer Mattel tumbled after saying losses widened in the first quarter.

Verizon Communications fell into the red after its quarterly earnings matched expectations, but revenue disappointed.

On the upside, American Express was in the black after its first-quarter numbers beat analysts’ expectations.

Sports clothing retailer Under Armour was sharply higher after it reported solid growth in quarterly profit and revenue.

General Motors 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: "This number is as spectacular as the Philly Fed was awful, but unfortunately it's about as plausible, too. The Labor Dept says no special factors affect this week's numbers, but the early Easter, in our view, continues to distort the seasonal adjustments.

"Easter last fell on March 27 in 2005, and if the unadjusted data now follow the post-Easter pattern from that year, the headline adjusted claims number will rise to about 265K next week and 280K the following week. 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."