US close: Stocks end flat as investors digest bank earnings, jobs data

The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.1% gain, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended flat.

Bank earnings were in focus after JPMorgan Chase released better-than-expected first-quarter numbers on Wednesday.

Bank of America ended in the black. Although it posted a drop in first-quarter profit on the back of falling trading revenue, the results were better than expected.

BlackRock also finished up despite falling short of its profit expectations, but Wells Fargo edged lower after saying first-quarter net income fell 7.6% from last year to $5.46bn.

In economic news, data from the Labor Department showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week.

US initial jobless claims fell by 13,000 to 253,000 from a downwardly-revised 266,000 the week before, beating expectations for a rise to 270,000.

Still, analysts were sceptical. Pantheon Macroeconomics said: “We'd love to be able to argue convincingly that these data represent hard evidence of a further improvement in labour market conditions, but it's more likely that Easter-related seasonal adjustment problems explain the drop.”

Meanwhile, the US consumer price index rose 0.9% in the year through March, compared to a 1% increase in February and analysts’ forecasts for 1.1% growth.

On the month, CPI rose 0.1% in March, up slightly from the previous month’s 0.2% fall but lower than the 0.2% gain that was expected.

A rebound in gasoline prices was offset by a drop in the cost of food and a slowdown in medical care and housing costs.

The Federal Reserve, which has a 2% inflation target, is monitoring consumer prices as it determines the timing of its next interest rate hike.

“It was tricky to ascertain investors’ reaction to the CPI reading; initially both the pound and the Dow rose, suggesting the market was happy with the ostensibly hawk-damaging nature of inflation’s relative softness,” said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.

“Yet at the same time the reading is now back out of negative territory, something that may cause a slightly less cautious tone to creep in during the Fed’s statement at the end of the month, explaining why those gains disappeared as the afternoon wore on.”

In commodities, oil prices settled lower. Earlier in the day, International Energy Agency said the global oil glut was set to ease by the end of this year. It also said that any potential agreement to freeze output at the Doha meeting this weekend would have only a limited impact on supplies.

By the time of the US close, West Texas Intermediate crude was down 0.6% to $41.49 per barrel and Brent was off 0.7% to $43.89.

S&P 500 - Risers

Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) $43.18 +4.55%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $41.18 +3.10%

Molson Coors Brewing Co. Class B (TAP) $95.73 +3.02%

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $74.32 +2.88%

Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $10.75 +2.58%

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $456.01 +2.55%

Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $14.14 +2.54%

Alcoa Inc. (AA) $10.01 +2.25%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $87.08 +2.23%

United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) $56.73 +2.07%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $27.11 -20.10%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $41.82 -6.65%

Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $9.26 -6.37%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $10.40 -4.41%

NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $25.64 -3.97%

Mosaic Company (MOS) $25.47 -3.96%

H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $24.02 -3.96%

Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $38.45 -3.44%

Progressive Corp. (PGR) $33.57 -3.42%

Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $17.77 -3.16%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $62.59 +1.29%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $56.45 +0.88%

Visa Inc. (V) $80.33 +0.78%

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $85.43 +0.71%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $160.91 +0.66%

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $65.18 +0.59%

American Express Co. (AXP) $62.51 +0.56%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $127.51 +0.49%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $134.37 +0.40%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $97.98 +0.39%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $31.80 -1.03%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $98.63 -0.85%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $82.01 -0.55%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $115.36 -0.52%

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $68.80 -0.51%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.83 -0.46%

3M Co. (MMM) $168.16 -0.26%

Boeing Co. (BA) $130.85 -0.22%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $59.49 -0.15%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $79.05 -0.10%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

American Airlines Group (AAL) $41.18 +3.10%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $87.08 +2.23%

Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $91.21 +1.72%

Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,336.39 +1.41%

Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $80.81 +1.39%

Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $30.65 +1.32%

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $154.75 +1.22%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $98.22 +1.06%

Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $620.75 +0.96%

Cerner Corp. (CERN) $56.44 +0.95%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $27.11 -20.10%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $41.82 -6.65%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $10.40 -4.41%

NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $25.64 -3.97%

Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $38.45 -3.44%

Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $17.89 -1.49%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $81.61 -1.45%

Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $36.81 -1.37%

Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $42.16 -1.26%

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $5