The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained for a second day to hit a three-month high, but losses in information technology weighed on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, with the latter snapping a four-day win streak as it pulled back from the record high hit a day earlier.
The blue-chip Dow gave back some of its gains but stayed in the green as McDonald's ( MCD ) jumped 4.4% on reports of a fresh round of layoffs meant to shrink its corporate structure and make the company "more dynamic, nimble and competitive."
Energy components Chevron ( CVX ) and Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) benefited from rising oil prices , with West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark crude future, up almost 2% amid concerns about exports from Venezuela and the fate of OPEC's production caps ahead of its upcoming Vienna meeting.
The energy sector rose 1.6% on the S&P 500, but the gain wasn't enough to lift the broader measure as tech stocks slid 1.1%. Intel ( INTC ) fell 2% in the Dow's sharpest loss, while Microsoft ( MSFT ), Apple (AAPL) and Cisco (CSCO) also retreated.
Top names in the tech group were weaker as U.S. Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said he's seeking responses from Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and Twitter ( TWTR ) on whether the companies have any data sharing agreements with Chinese vendors.
Facebook (FB) fell 1.7% after disclosing millions of users may have unknowingly shared content publicly due to a software glitch. Alphabet lost 1.1% as the company published comments about how it will use artificial intelligence technology.
Sentiment was mixed though the session as the Nasdaq took a breather from its record run, while the S&P earlier got support from the announcement Chinese telecom ZTE can continue to do business with U.S. suppliers. Also, upbeat remarks from Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A, BRK.B) Warren Buffet and JP Morgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon on CNBC this morning added some support.
Here's where the market stood by the close:
US MARKETS
Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 95.02 points (+0.38%)
S&P 500 was down 1.98 points (-0.07%)
Nasdaq Composite Index was down 54.17 points (-0.70%)
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
FTSE 100 was down 0.1%
Nikkei 225 was up 0.87%
Hang Seng Index was up 0.81%
Shanghai China Composite Index was down 0.2%
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) AVHI (+28.79%) To be acquired by Taylor Morrison Homes (TMHC)
(+) ZS (+23.3%) Posts fiscal Q3 beat, issues guidance above Street
(+) FIVE (+21.86%) Tops Q1 estimates
(+) OPHT (+10.36%) Enters into gene therapy deals with Universities of Florida, Pennsylvania
(+) MTN (+4.57%) Reports fiscal Q3 earnings, revenue beat
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) PTI (-38.16%) Downgraded by RBC Capital to sector perform from outperform, PT cut to $5 from $11
(-) MDXG (-23.39%) To restate earnings on revenue recognition discrepancy
(-) ZUO (-8.05%) Morgan Stanley sounds caution but raises price target
(-) BSBR (-7%) JPMorgan lowers to underperform from market perform
(-) LRCX (-5.40%) Evercore warns of near-term weakness
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
