Major Averages Close Mixed For Second Straight Day - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday, with the major averages closing on opposite sides of the unchanged line for the second straight day. The Dow still managed to reach another new record closing high.

While the Dow rose 34.72 points or 0.2 percent to 20,810.32 and the S&P 500 inched up 0.99 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,363.81, the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell by 25.12 points or 0.4 percent to 5,835.51.

The choppy trading on Wall Street extended the relatively lackluster performance seen over the course of the previous session.

Traders seemed somewhat reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength.

The Dow benefited from strong gains by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Pfizer (PFE), and Verizon (VZ), which helped the blue chip index close higher for the tenth consecutive session.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing a modest increase in initial jobless claims in the week ended February 18th.

The report said initial jobless claims rose to 244,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 238,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 241,000 from the 239,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Among individual stocks, shares of Square (SQ) moved sharply higher after the mobile payments company reported a narrower than expected fourth quarter loss.

HP Inc. (HPQ) also posted a strong gain after the printer and PC maker reported first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates.

On the other hand, shares of Hormel Foods (HRL) came under pressure after the food company reported weaker than expected first quarter earnings and lowered its full year guidance.

Sector News

Many of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, although substantial weakness was visible among steel stocks. The NYSE Arca Steel Index plunged by 3.8 percent, pulling back further off the two-year closing high it set on Tuesday.

Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), Ryerson (RYI), and U.S. Steel (X) turned in some of the steel sector's worst performances on the day.

Networking and semiconductor stocks also saw considerable weakness, contributing to the drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. The NYSE Arca Networking Index and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell by 1.9 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Natural gas and transportation stocks also moved to the downside on the day, while notable strength was visible among oil service and pharmaceutical stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index closed just below the unchanged line, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.4 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both dropped by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries saw further upside after ending the previous session slightly higher. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 3 basis points to 2.388 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Friday may be impacted by reaction to a pair of economic reports on new home sales and consumer sentiment.

On the earnings front, Gap (GPS), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and Nordstrom (JWN) are among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.

J.C. Penney (JCP) and Foot Locker (FL) are also scheduled to release their results before the start of trading on Friday.