US close: Markets lower, Dow breaks winning streak
Wall Street’s main indices gave up earlier gains to close lower on Thursday, as healthcare, materials and telecoms stocks dragged investor sentiment down late in the session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.31% at 24,508.66, the S&P 500 fell 0.41% to 2,652.01, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.3% to settle at 6,856.53.
It was also the end of a five-day winning streak for the Dow, which had also closed at record levels for the previous four sessions.
On the economic front, retail sales in the US rose 0.8% in November, as Americans splashed the cash and credit during the holiday shopping season.
Jobless claims fell 11,000 in the last week, according to fresh data, with the US import prices reading also coming in, at a 0.7% increase for the month of November.
Traders were initially buoyed as more details of the Republican tax plan filtered out, although concern on how quickly it could be passed - or if it would even make it to law at all - was still rife.
Senator Marco Rubio said he would vote against the current proposals, according to media reports, adding he wanted to see further expansion of the federal child tax credit before reconsidering.
“House and Senate budget conferees appear to have finalized some provisions of their legislation, but many elements, including how to pay for some of the latest changes, have not been settled,” noted analysts at Oxford Economics.
“Passing spending legislation for 2018 may prove to be more contentious than passing tax cuts.
“Congress has to pass another stopgap budget measure by December 22, and the stage is being set for a confrontation between the House and Senate.”
In corporate news, 21st Century Fox was up 6.5% after Walt Disney confirmed it would buy the media conglomerate in a $52.4bn deal.
Shares in Disney were ahead 2.8%.
Teva Pharmaceuticals rocketed ahead 10% after it revealed fresh restructuring plans, including the axing of 14,000 jobs over the next two years.
It was also cancelling 2017 bonuses and suspending dividends, effective immediately.
Technology firms were also winners on Thursday, with Google parent Alphabet ahead 0.8% and Amazon.com up 0.9%, while Twitter strode ahead 4.3% by the end of the session.
On the down side, Valeant Pharmaceuticals was off 11% after JP Morgan downgraded it to ‘underweight’ from ‘neutral’.
Sanderson Farms was 13% lower after the chicken producer issued weaker-than-expected numbers for the fourth quarter.
Dow Jones - Risers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $64.53 3.80%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $110.57 2.75%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $91.03 1.28%
Boeing Co. (BA) $293.93 0.70%
3M Co. (MMM) $238.09 0.64%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $173.14 0.53%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $97.13 0.44%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $46.03 0.28%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $82.95 0.23%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $123.82 0.23%
Dow Jones - Fallers
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $104.66 -2.05%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $56.04 -1.86%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.34 -1.60%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $146.24 -1.54%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $132.59 -1.32%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $84.69 -0.77%
General Electric Co. (GE) $17.66 -0.68%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $141.72 -0.67%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $37.90 -0.66%
American Express Co. (AXP) $97.17 -0.64%
S&P 500 - Risers
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $34.88 6.50%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $34.22 5.81%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $16.24 4.17%
Tiffany & Co. (TIF) $99.35 4.02%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $64.53 3.80%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $35.89 3.76%
Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $42.83 3.16%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $55.25 3.02%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $110.57 2.75%
Realty Income Corp. (O) $56.98 2.22%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $8.69 -14.80%
Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $11.77 -10.77%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $9.51 -6.35%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $14.06 -5.70%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $28.65 -5.32%
XL Group Ltd (XL) $35.12 -5.18%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $22.46 -4.67%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.29 -4.51%
Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) $37.42 -4.29%
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $23.12 -3.95%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $34.88 6.50%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $34.22 5.81%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $31.43 2.14%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $32.33 1.99%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $100.25 1.41%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $39.12 1.40%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $20.04 1.26%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $40.01 1.21%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $119.90 1.14%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $51.31 1.08%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $74.34 -2.93%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $360.56 -2.83%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $95.97 -2.17%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $323.55 -2.17%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $62.56 -1.99%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $75.51 -1.90%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $70.36 -1.90%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $155.25 -1.86%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $94.09 -1.85%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $241.45 -1.82%