US close: Markets post another day of gains as producer prices accelerate
US stocks finished higher on Thursday after some unsteadiness earlier in the session, as investors eyed higher-than-expected inflation print from a day earlier and mixed jobs and producer prices data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.23% at 25,200.37, the S&P 500 added 1.21% to 2,731.20, and the Nasdaq 100 charged ahead 1.8% to 6,794.92.
Wednesday's inflation data was still on traders' minds, as the consumer price index for January showed a 2.1% gain - above economists' expectations for a fall to 1.9%.
On Thursday, the US producer price index accelerated to 0.4% in January from -0.1% the prior month according to the Labour Department, thanks to strong gains seen in the cost of gasoline and health care, hinting that inflation pressures were building up after staying flat throughout December.
“Those hawkish numbers appear to have been enough to temper investors’ early enthusiasm, undermining the market’s recently displayed resilience,” noted Connor Campbell, financial analyst at SpreadEx.
In other data, initial US jobless claims increased by 7,000 to 230,000 for the week ended 10 February, with the monthly average of claims rising 3,500 to 228,500, after touching a 45-year low last week.
The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits expanded by 15,000 to 1.94 million, although that figure was still markedly down from the 2.4 million people receiving benefits in the same week a year earlier.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported an unexpectedly faster rate of growth was reported in regional manufacturing activity in the month of February.
Its index for current manufacturing activity climbed to 25.8 in February from the 22.2 seen in January, despite economists projecting the index to drop to 21.1.
The surprise increase by the headline index was partially due to a strong growth in new orders which surged up to 24.5 in February from the 10.1 posted back in January.
Looking at the housing market, demand for new single-family homes held steady as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index was flat at 72 for February.
The NAHB/Wells Fargo housing market index revealed that the current single-family home sales index had dipped to 78 from 79, while the sales expectations index for the next six months rose to 80 from 78 and the traffic of prospective buyers index remained at 54.
"Builders are excited about the pro-business political climate that will strengthen the housing market and support overall economic growth," NAHB Chairman Randy Noel said.
"However, they need to manage supply-side construction hurdles, such as shortages of labour and lots and building material price increases."
In corporate news, technology group Cisco Systems gained 4.73% after it reported its first rise in quarterly revenue in more than two years on Wednesday and struck an upbeat note on profit for the current quarter.
TripAdvisor moved ahead 4.13%, giving up some earlier gains, after the online travel review portal’s quarterly earnings beat expectations late on Wednesday.
Direct marketing cosmetics firm Avon Products picked up 11.98% as its fourth-quarter profit came in ahead of analysts' expectations, but sales fell a little short.
E-commerce platform provider Shopify clawed back earlier losses, eking out gains of 0.15% in New York after posting a 71% jump in fourth-quarter revenue.
Dow Jones - Risers
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $44.08 4.73%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $68.29 3.67%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $130.01 3.37%
Boeing Co. (BA) $356.46 3.37%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $172.99 3.36%
Visa Inc. (V) $122.31 3.35%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $115.53 2.74%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $103.23 2.23%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.73 2.20%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $92.66 2.04%
Dow Jones - Fallers
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $160.78 -1.00%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $112.53 -0.97%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.73 -0.68%
General Electric Co. (GE) $14.85 -0.34%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $226.05 -0.27%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $76.21 -0.12%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $185.23 0.29%
American Express Co. (AXP) $96.58 0.34%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $105.20 0.57%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $71.87 0.76%
S&P 500 - Risers
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG) $25.08 12.87%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $18.41 10.24%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $53.36 9.96%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $19.13 8.82%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $8.89 8.02%
Molson Coors Brewing Co. Class B (TAP) $81.74 7.98%
Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $78.50 7.18%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $13.63 7.07%
Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $12.38 6.72%
Progressive Corp. (PGR) $56.79 6.71%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) $407.31 -6.54%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $57.67 -4.90%
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) $240.65 -3.76%
Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) $77.29 -2.87%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $13.82 -2.74%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $141.29 -2.72%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $99.76 -2.32%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $34.74 -2.31%
Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO) $31.00 -2.08%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $46.89 -2.05%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $280.27 5.36%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $248.20 5.22%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $44.08 4.73%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $53.99 3.91%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $334.07 3.65%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $64.40 3.50%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $61.21 3.50%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $71.99 3.36%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $172.99 3.36%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $169.31 3.30%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $34.05 -6.69%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $33.01 -5.47%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $85.59 -2.93%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $141.29 -2.72%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $65.28 -1.97%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $204.00 -1.33%
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $74.07 -1.15%
Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $27.80 -0.61%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $122.71 -0.40%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $81.55 -0.33%