US close: Wall Street runs in circle to end flat

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrials was just on the wrong side of flat back at five points below the 17,000 level, down 0.02%, while the S&P 500 was marginally in the green, up 0.31 point or 0.02% to close at 1,989.57. The Nasdaq composite lost 12.2 points, or 0.26% to end the session at 4,662.16.

Earlier the indices had all moved higher after the ECB surprised strategists and economists with a barrage of stimulus measures, slashing its main 'refi' rate by five basis points (bps) to 0.00%, increasing quantitative easing (QE) by €20bn to €80bn until at least March 2017.

Another surprise was that investment grade bonds issued by non-bank corporations will be included in the list of assets for regular purchases.

Initially the euro dipped sharply against the dollar, but in his press conference after the measures were unveiled the central bank President Mario Draghi said the said he did not see the ECB cutting interest rates again, unless "new facts […] change the situation and the outlook".

This sent the euro reversing aggressively back up against the dollar, for a gain of 1.7% by 2130 GMT.

Meanwhile, oil futures shed their spectacular overnight gains as US crude inventory data weighed on trading sentiment.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were down 0.9% to $37.95 a barrel and Brent crude was 2.2% lower at $40.17.

Not only did US government data released late on Wednesday showed the country’s crude stockpiles rose in line with analysts’ expectations, but Reuters reported Iran was blocking a meeting between several of the world’s major oil producers that was scheduled to take place in Russia on 20 March.

Moreover, Goldman Sachs said the recent surge in prices was not sustainable and the rout was by no means over. “In the current supply-driven market, demand hasn’t really changed, it takes lower prices to push and keep supply below demand to create a deficit. As a result, higher prices are much harder to sustain in a supply-driven market since supply is primed to return with higher prices,” the investment bank advised its clients.

Jobs data was also disappointing, with weekly initial unemployment claims in the States dropping 18,000 over the week ending on 5 March to reach 259,000, according to the Department of Labor. That was well below the 275,000 the consensus was expecting.

“The key point here is that claims remain close to their cycle - and all-time - lows, signalling no distress at all in the labor market, despite the obvious severe weakness in the energy sector and related manufacturing. These sectors are very small and their woes are being offset by strength elsewhere,” wrote economist Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics.

In corporate news, Box, an online file sharing and content management service, posted a smaller-than-expected loss of 26 cents per share for the fourth quarter, on revenue of $85m.

Meanwhile, mobile payments company Square said gross payment volume increased 47% in the fourth quarter to $10.2bn.

Nasdaq said it would acquire International Securities Exchange for $1.1bn.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was higher by two basis points to 1.8989.

S&P 500 - Risers
United States Steel Corp. (X) $14.37 +14.68%
Dollar General Corp (DG) $83.23 +10.66%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $6.39 +8.49%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $9.60 +4.92%
Ensco Plc. (ESV) $10.97 +4.68%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $27.35 +4.63%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $12.89 +4.29%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $79.82 +4.03%
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $27.43 +3.63%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $59.99 +3.61%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $15.89 -11.53%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $33.64 -5.03%
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $2.68 -3.94%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $40.40 -3.33%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $82.28 -2.78%
Tesoro Corp. (TSO) $86.08 -2.73%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $30.44 -2.72%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $136.76 -2.68%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $33.07 -2.51%
Legg Mason Inc. (LM) $31.19 -2.50%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $53.04 +1.30%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $31.25 +1.25%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $93.94 +1.21%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $58.88 +0.94%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.23 +0.94%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $122.09 +0.82%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $151.02 +0.74%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $119.98 +0.28%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $107.14 +0.28%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $111.53 +0.18%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $62.16 -2.03%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $52.05 -1.50%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $58.61 -0.86%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $27.38 -0.83%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $82.28 -0.82%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $71.36 -0.71%
Visa Inc. (V) $70.22 -0.65%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $97.04 -0.63%
American Express Co. (AXP) $58.75 -0.51%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $29.59 -0.50%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $79.82 +4.03%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $163.39 +2.75%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $88.84 +2.31%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $34.95 +2.16%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $19.57 +2.09%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $75.23 +1.92%
Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $144.42 +1.73%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $47.29 +1.59%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $55.49 +1.35%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $155.06 +1.35%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $40.40 -3.33%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $82.28 -2.78%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $136.76 -2.68%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $33.07 -2.51%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $35.17 -2.06%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $32.82 -2.06%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $50.10 -2.01%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $34.46 -1.94%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $83.60 -1.90%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $38.17 -1.83%