US close: Markets break into the green as earnings lift sentiment

US stocks finished in just the green on Thursday, as earnings and trade fears continued to weigh on market sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 0.01% at 27,222.97, the S&P 500 added 0.36% to 2,995.11, and the Nasdaq 100 was ahead 0.19% at 7,904.13.

At the open, the Dow had lost 29.54 points a day after it closed 115.78 lower, initially extending the week's declines after comments from Donald Trump put a halt to a historic rally.

The US president triggered concerns about the state of negotiations with China earlier in the week when he said the pair still had "a long way to go" before settling their trade dispute, brandishing again the threat of trade tariffs on an additional $325bn worth of Chinese exports.

"We have a long way to go as far as tariffs where China is concerned, if we want,” he said.

“We have another $325bn we can put a tariff on, if we want.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that the cause of the stalemate in negotiations was the US's restrictions on Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei.

However, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin later told CNBC that Huawei was not a sticking point in negotiations, noting that a call between trade officials had been scheduled for later in the day.

With earnings season in full swing, AxiTrader's James Hughes said: "Earnings season may have looked a little brighter at the start of the week, but sentiment soured yesterday after a run of disappointing news."

But on a brighter note, Hughes added that although the Dow may have "given back a couple of hundred points this week", given the "generally effervescent" state of the market, the analyst felt this was "unlikely to prove much cause for concern yet".

In terms of data, a key index for manufacturing sector conditions in the US mid-Atlantic region snapped back in July amid a surge of new orders and with hiring ramping up quickly.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's closely-followed factory sector index jumped from a reading of 0.3 points for June to 21.8 in July. Economists had only been expecting a timid rise to 5.0.

Elsewhere, first-time unemployment claims in the States rose a tad more than expected during the previous week but continued to point to still solid labour market conditions.

According to the Department of Labor, so-called initial jobless claims increased by 8,000 over the week ending on 13 July to reach 216,000. Economists had forecast a reading of 215,000.

On the corporate front, Netflix shares fell 10.27% after the streaming giant revealed overnight that its US subscriber numbers had dropped for the first time.

Morgan Stanley stock rose 1.51% after posting better-than-expected quarterly results, driven by its wealth management and fund units.

M&T Bank was down 4.52% on the back of its own quarterly results, while Union Pacific steamed ahead 6.24% and SunTrust Banks rose 2.72% following their own figures.

Dow Jones - Risers

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $149.66 4.25%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $82.69 1.35%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $205.66 1.14%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $49.94 1.11%
American Express Co. (AXP) $128.40 1.04%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $215.91 1.02%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $57.74 0.93%
Visa Inc. (V) $180.53 0.68%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $214.52 0.57%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $54.82 0.55%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $361.17 -2.28%
3M Co. (MMM) $173.00 -1.98%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $141.62 -1.86%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $260.48 -1.58%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $74.84 -1.44%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $131.32 -1.40%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $87.43 -1.31%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $152.67 -1.24%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $134.89 -0.62%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $214.46 -0.53%

S&P 500 - Risers

Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) $87.71 7.51%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $133.41 6.31%
Hershey Foods Corp. (HSY) $147.55 5.07%
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) $158.04 4.82%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $149.66 4.25%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $48.17 4.22%
US Bancorp (USB) $55.18 4.03%
Ball Corp (BLL) $70.91 3.50%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $198.23 3.40%
Kellogg Co. (K) $56.98 3.19%

S&P 500 - Fallers

United Rentals Inc. (URI) $121.10 -11.98%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $325.21 -10.27%
Textron Inc. (TXT) $48.78 -9.72%
Snap On Inc. (SNA) $151.24 -5.50%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $29.37 -5.29%
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) $195.90 -5.12%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $87.87 -5.01%
Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $109.44 -5.00%
M&T Bank Corp. (MTB) $162.76 -4.88%
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $49.08 -4.75%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $28.10 8.04%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $27.42 7.53%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $133.41 6.31%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $48.17 4.22%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $226.65 4.13%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $198.23 3.40%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $44.67 3.00%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $96.87 2.93%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $52.88 2.70%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $648.67 2.68%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $325.21 -10.27%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $45.72 -2.06%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $110.12 -1.90%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $74.37 -1.83%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $247.99 -1.77%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $111.79 -1.58%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $69.08 -1.51%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $298.55 -1.44%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $77.97 -1.22%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $64.97 -1.17%