After moving sharply higher over the past few sessions, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday. The major averages spent most of the session modestly below the unchanged line but ended the day narrowly mixed.<\/p>\n
The Dow climbed well off its worst levels of the day in late-day trading but still closed down 45.74 points or 0.1 percent at 34,945.47. The blue chip index edged down of the three-month closing high set on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq crept up 9.84 points or 0.1 percent to 14,113.67, its best closing level in well over three months, and the S&P 500 inched up 5.36 points or 0.1 percent to a more than two-month closing high of 4,508.24.<\/p>\n
A steep drop by shares of Walmart (WMT) weighed on the Dow, with the retail giant plunging by 8.1 percent after ending Wednesday’s trading at a record closing high.<\/p>\n
The pullback by Walmart came after the company reported better than expected fiscal third quarter results but forecast full-year earnings toward the low end of analyst estimates.<\/p>\n
Dow component Cisco Systems (CSCO) also plunged by 9.8 percent after the networking giant reported fiscal first quarter results that beat estimates but lowered its full-year revenue forecast.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the upticks by the Nasdaq and S&P 500 came as the latest batch of U.S. economic data added to recent optimism about the outlook for interest rates.<\/p>\n
The Labor Department released a report showing U.S. import and export prices both fell by more than expected in the month of October, capping off an encouraging week of inflation data.<\/p>\n
The report said import prices slid by 0.8 percent in October after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in September.<\/p>\n
Economists had expected import prices to decrease by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said export prices slumped by 1.1 percent in October after rising by a downwardly revised 0.5 percent in September.<\/p>\n
Export prices were expected to decline by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.7 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.<\/p>\n
A separate Labor Department report showing initial jobless claims climbed by much more than expected in the week ended November 11th.<\/p>\n
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 231,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 218,000.<\/p>\n
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000 from the 217,000 originally reported for the previous week.<\/p>\n
With the bigger than expected, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 232,000 in the week ended August 19th.<\/p>\n
“The claims data are consistent with a job market that is cooling enough to keep rate hikes off the table, but too strong to make rate cuts a consideration any time soon,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.<\/p>\n
She added, “The Fed is surely encouraged by recent inflation data but needs to see a further slowdown in the labor market and wage growth to be persuaded that inflation is on a sustainable path back to 2%.”<\/p>\n
The Federal Reserve also released a report showing industrial production fell by more than expected in October due in part to the strikes at several major motor vehicle manufacturers<\/p>\n
Sector News<\/p>\n
Energy stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, with a steep drop by the price of crude oil weighing the sector.<\/p>\n
With crude for December delivery plummeting $3.76 to $72.90 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index dove by 3.6 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index tumbled by 2.4 percent.<\/p>\n
Cisco led the networking sector lower on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Networking Index down 3.3 percent. The index ended Wednesday’s trading at its best closing level in over a month.<\/p>\n
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is also posting a steep loss after reporting better than expected fiscal first quarter earnings but provided disappointing billings guidance.<\/p>\n
Airline and retail stocks also saw significant weakness, while gold stocks moved notably higher along with the price of the precious metal.<\/p>\n
Other Markets<\/p>\n