US close: Stocks mixed as traders mull slate of economic data
US stocks were mixed on Thursday as oil prices continued to rally and as investors sifted through economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high, rising 0.4% to 19,191.93 points after reaching an intra-day high of 19,214.30. The Nasdaq fell for a second straight session, shedding 1.4% to 5,251.11 points. The S&P 500 dropped 0.35% to 2,191.08 points.
Oil prices gushed higher after OPEC agreed on Wednesday to reduce production by 1.2m barrels a day to 32.5m barrels from January next year.
West Texas Intermediate crude oozed up 2.9% to $50.93 per barrel and Brent crude jumped 3.5% to $53.75 per barrel at 2133 GMT.
On the economic data front, US manufacturing activity grew more than expected in November.
Markit’s final US manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 54.1 last month from 53.4 in October and the flash reading of 53.9. Analysts had expected no change to the PMI.
The ISM’s headline US manufacturing index rose to 53.2 from 51.9 the month before, beating expectations of a 52.2 reading and marking its highest level in five months.
Separately, the Commerce Department revealed US construction spending in October rose at its strongest pace in seven months, boosted by activity in the residential sector.
Spending increased 0.5% month-on-month in October to $1.173trn, its highest level since March of 2016, although it was slightly less than forecasts for a 0.6% increase.
The Labor Department revealed initial jobless claims rose by 17,000 to 268,000 in the week to 26 November, compared to forecasts of 253,000.
The attention now turns to Friday’s highly-awaited US non-farm payrolls report. Healthy figures are likely to increase the odds the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this month.
“In reality, only a catastrophically bad figure will be able to put a dent in the prevailing belief that the Fed is 100% certain to move,” said IG’s Chris Beauchamp.
Elsewhere, data revealed China manufacturing growth slowed but it was better than expected.
Caixin's Chinese manufacturing sector PMI slipped from a 27-month high of 51.2 in October to 50.9 for November. However, it was above forecasts for a reading of 50.8.
In corporate news, General Motors revved higher after the automaker reported an 8% rise in vehicle sales in November. .
Guess shares declined after the fashion retailer lowered its earnings guidance for this year on late Wednesday.
Express Inc. slumped after issuing a sluggish outlook for the current quarter as it reported third quarter results that exceeded estimates.
FuelCell Energy shares tumbled after the fuel cell power plant company said it cut 96 jobs, or 17% of its workforce, in order the reduce costs to offset falling sales.
Dow Jones - Risers
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $226.72 3.35%
General Electric Co. (GE) $31.39 2.05%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $81.79 2.02%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $115.41 1.82%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $160.94 1.65%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $113.33 1.55%
Boeing Co. (BA) $152.36 1.22%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $50.65 1.16%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $96.24 0.71%
American Express Co. (AXP) $72.53 0.68%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $33.76 -2.71%
Visa Inc. (V) $75.43 -2.44%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $31.45 -2.12%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $59.20 -1.76%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $159.82 -1.48%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $29.45 -1.24%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $109.49 -0.93%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $81.83 -0.73%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $60.78 -0.70%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $118.47 -0.67%
S&P 500 - Risers
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $19.31 6.92%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $12.13 6.87%
Flowserve Corp. (FLS) $49.82 5.06%
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (HBAN) $13.03 4.57%
Ametek Inc. (AME) $49.40 4.33%
Dover Corp. (DOV) $75.53 4.02%
Textron Inc. (TXT) $47.88 4.02%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $36.59 4.01%
Northern Trust Corp. (NTRS) $85.42 3.98%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $12.43 3.93%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $61.23 -7.48%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $69.01 -7.04%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $98.58 -7.02%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $71.78 -6.60%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $30.10 -6.52%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $50.03 -6.33%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $64.16 -5.83%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $18.48 -5.38%
Dollar General Corp (DG) $73.48 -4.97%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $38.11 -4.96%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
CSX Corp. (CSX) $36.62 2.26%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $30.91 1.71%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $63.04 1.43%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $45.41 1.34%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $79.82 1.32%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $76.05 1.31%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $151.74 1.09%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $58.51 0.93%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $73.44 0.64%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $295.78 0.58%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $61.23 -7.48%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $69.01 -7.04%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $98.58 -7.02%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $71.78 -6.60%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $30.10 -6.52%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $64.16 -5.83%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $18.48 -5.38%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $38.11 -4.96%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $87.64 -4.95%
CA Inc. (CA) $30.41 -4.85%