The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were struggling to stay positive on Thursday after Wall Street abandoned its attempt push the Dow through 24,700, and investors locked in profits after five straight days higher.
The major market indices were trading higher in the wake of upbeat economic data and the decision by all three major European central banks to hold interest rates unchanged. The Dow set another record high on gains in consumer discretionary shares while the Nasdaq was again propped up by gains in the technology sector.
Economic data supported the Federal Open Market Committee's decision on Wednesday to raise rates a third time this year as initial jobless claims fell 11,000 to a 44-year low, and retail sales increased by their fastest pace in more than five years. Excluding auto and gas sales, retail sales exceeded expectations by a comfortable margin.
Additionally, import and export prices were both higher in November, and business inventories fell 0.1% with sales up 0.6%. The purchasing managers flash December indices on the services and manufacturing sectors were mixed as the services PMI fell to a 15-month low, but manufacturing rose to an 11-month high.
European markets all closed with a loss despite the European Central Bank, Bank of England and Swiss National Bank all keeping interest rates unchanged, as well as upbeat PMIs. The banking sector took the brunt of today's losses following by weakness in the media sector tied to the proposed $52.4 billion sale of 21st Century Fox ( FOX ) assets to Disney ( DIS ).
Crude oil was up $0.21 to $56.81 per barrel. Natural gas was down $0.04 to $2.68 per 1 million BTU. Gold was up $6.80 to $1,255.60 an ounce, while silver was up $0.02 to $15.88 an ounce. Copper was up $0.02 to $3.07 per pound.
Among energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund was up 0.35% to $11.37 with the United States Natural Gas Fund was down 0.37% to $5.34. Among precious-metal funds, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF was down 0.25% to 22.03 while SPDR Gold Shares were down 0.18% to $118.96. The iShares Silver Trust was down 1.12% to $14.98.
Here's where the markets stand at mid-day:
US MARKETS
NYSE Composite Index was down 13.06 (-0.10%) to 12,686.42
Dow Jones Industrial Index was up 20.43 points (+0.08%) to 24,605.86
S&P 500 was up 0.31 points (+0.01%) to 2,663.28
Nasdaq Composite Index was up 12.48 points (+0.19%) to 6,888.54
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
FTSE 100 was down 48.39 points (-0.65%) to 7,448.12
DAX was down 57.56 points (-0.44%) to 13,068.08
CAC 40 was down 42.31 points (-0.78%) to 5,357.14
Nikkei 225 was down 63.62 points (-0.28%) to 22,694.45
Hang Seng Index was down 55.72 points (-0.19%) to 29,166.38
Shanghai China Composite Index was down 9.46 points (-0.29%) to 3,293.58
NYSE SECTOR INDICES
NYSE Energy Sector Index was down 6.22 points (-0.06%) to 11,024.26
NYSE Financial Sector Index was down 7.22 points (-0.07%) to 8,182.12
NYSE Healthcare Sector Index was down 68.94 points (-0.48%) to 14,294.31
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) SMIT (+52.14%) Reported a profit for Q2 as sales increased 42%
(+) AMPE (+35.43%) Osteoarthritis study meets endpoints
(+) TEVA (+13.14%) Plans to cut workforce by 14,000, suspend dividend as part of restructuring
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) PIR (-29.11%) Reported weaker-than-expected Q3 results, issued soft Q4 guidance
(-) CRTO (-27.55%) Cuts revenue forecast to reflect impact from Apple's ( AAPL ) ad-blocking software
(-) SBGL (-5.60%) Announces $381 acquisition of Lonmin PLC
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Copyright (C) 2016 MTNewswires.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
