Weighed down by losses in industrial and energy shares, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is lower for a second day, lagging modest gains in the other major averages. The Nasdaq is again outperforming its peers as gains in most of the FAANG stocks offsets losses in the semiconductor sector.
Wall Street continued to ignore the simmering trade dispute between the US and China as well as sanctions against Russia and bloodbath in the Turkish lira, focusing instead on strong quarterly results from Viacom (VIA, VIAB), Yelp ( YELP ) and Roku ( ROKU ) and the absence of inflationary pressure on wholesale prices.
The producer price index was flat in July, missing expectations for a 0.3% gain. Excluding the volatile food and fuel sector, wholesale prices were up just 0.1%, also missing the 0.3% estimate.
Thursday's other economic data included a 6,000 drop in new unemployment claims and a slight uptick in wholesale inventories. Wholesale sales fell 0.1% versus +0.2% estimates, leaving the inventory/sales ratio for June unchanged at 1.25.
Besides earnings and inflation, Thursday's headlines were again dominated by Tesla ( TSLA ) along with shelved mergers between Rite Aid ( RAD ) and Albertson's and Tribune Media ( TRCO ) and Sinclair Broadcasting (SBGI).
Propped up by a rally in component stock Adidas, Germany's DAX broke rank with most of its European peers by closing higher. The UK's FTSE-100 snapped a four-day winning streak by closing with a loss despite a sixth day lower for the British pound.
Crude oil was up $0.02 to $66.96 per barrel. Natural gas was down $0.01 to $2.94 per 1 million BTU. Gold was up $0.10 to $1,221.00 an ounce, while silver was up $0.03 to $15.47 an ounce. Copper was up $0.02 to $2.77 per pound.
Among energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund was up 0.21% to $13.93 with the United States Natural Gas Fund was down 0.17% to $24.09. Among precious-metal funds, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF was up 0.45% to 20.80 while SPDR Gold Shares were down 0.02% to $114.89. The iShares Silver Trust was up 0.21% to $14.53.
Here's where the markets stand at mid-day:
US MARKETS
NYSE Composite Index was down 18.05 points (-0.13%) to 12,970.63
Dow Jones Industrial Index was down 30.23 points (-0.12%) to 25,553.52
S&P 500 was unchanged at 2,857.74
Nasdaq Composite Index was up 25.40 points (+0.32%) to 7,913.43
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
FTSE 100 was down 34.88 points (-.45%) to 7,741.77
DAX was up 42.57 points (+0.34%) to 12,676.11
CAC 40 was up 0.35 points (+0.01%) to 5,502.25
Nikkei 225 was down 45.92 points (-0.20%) to 22,598.39
Hang Seng Index was up 248.16 points (+0.88%) to 28,607.30
Shanghai China Composite Index was up 50.64 points (+1.85%) to 2,794.71
NYSE SECTOR INDICES
NYSE Energy Sector Index was down 106.00 points (-0.88%) to 11,965.80
NYSE Financial Sector Index was down 15.10 points (-0.19%) to 8,141.11
NYSE Healthcare Sector Index was down 12.90 points (-0.09%) to 15,550.02
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) CTXR (+40.35%) Priced $10 million shares at $1.275
(+) BEL (+36.55%) Reported mixed results, announced review of strategic alternatives to boost shareholder value
(+) YELP (+27.18%) Reported better-than-expected results, lifted FY guidance
(+) ROKU (+21.02%) Tops Q2 expectations
(+) SESN (+13.96%) Secures FDA Fast Track approval of lead candidate Vicinium
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) AMPE (-38.81%) Announced stock offering
(-) IPAS (-33.16%) Missed Q2 EPS estimates
(-) ELF (-28.44%) Lowered FY18 guidance
(-) LJPC (-22.90%) Reported a wider-than-expected loss for Q2
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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.
