US close: Stocks weaker even after jobless claims beat
Wall Street stocks closed in negative territory on Thursday, despite a better-than-expected jobless claims report.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.94% at 33,815.90, as the S&P 500 lost 0.92% to 4,134.98 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.94% at 13,818.41.
The Dow closed 321.41 points lower on Thursday, cutting into gains recorded in the previous session after reopening stocks led all three major indices higher.
On the data front, US jobless claims continued to slip lower, contrary to economists' expectations, hitting a pandemic-era low.
According to the Department of Labor, initial unemployment claims for the week ending on 17 April dropped by 39,000 to reach 547,000.
Secondary unemployment claims, meanwhile, dipped by 34,000 to 3.67m.
Elsewhere, the Chicago Fed's national activity index rose to 1.71 in March from -1.2 in February, better than market expectations for a print of -0.66.
Still on data, closed sales of existing homes fell 3.7% in March to 6.01m units, according to the National Association of Realtors, marking the slowest sales pace since August and a second straight month of declines.
In equity markets, AT&T closed up 4.15% after beating Wall Street forecasts, while DR Horton advanced 1.74% after raising its full-year outlook on the back of a quarterly profit beat.
Biogen lost 4.02% after reporting a 71% slump in quarterly profits, as its top-selling multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera faced increased competition from cheaper generic versions.
Southwest Airlines descended 1.56% after saying it expected to see leisure bookings improve on the back of the US Covid-19 vaccine rollout, with the low-cost carrier expecting to break even in June.
Legacy carrier American Airlines, meanwhile, slid 4.47% after reporting a 53% year-on-year decline in quarterly revenues.
Dow Jones - Risers
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $231.35 0.34%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $232.96 0.30%
Visa Inc. (V) $227.57 0.05%
3M Co. (MMM) $200.90 0.01%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
American Express Co. (AXP) $147.16 -0.01%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $182.76 -0.19%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $54.44 -0.31%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $229.26 -0.54%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $129.18 -0.55%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $60.93 -6.00%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $52.58 -2.72%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $147.37 -2.11%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $62.57 -1.77%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $100.95 -1.73%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $134.63 -1.62%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $77.96 -1.60%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $141.28 -1.58%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $228.89 -1.54%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $57.28 -1.48%
S&P 500 - Risers
Equifax Inc. (EFX) $221.41 14.94%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $188.11 4.41%
AT&T Inc. (T) $31.36 4.15%
Arconic Inc. (ARNC) $27.44 3.70%
Danaher Corp. (DHR) $252.63 3.49%
Robert Half International Inc. (RHI) $85.20 3.27%
IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) $225.94 3.17%
Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $133.69 2.82%
Apache Corp. (APA) $17.61 2.74%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $41.96 2.49%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (HBAN) $14.46 -6.71%
LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $102.00 -5.66%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $84.71 -5.34%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $76.09 -5.10%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $66.26 -4.61%
Twitter Inc (TWTR) $64.31 -4.49%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $20.07 -4.47%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $614.54 -4.17%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $259.00 -4.02%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $859.66 -3.56%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $41.96 2.49%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $111.35 2.22%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $169.59 1.68%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $12.13 1.46%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $146.64 1.30%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $408.42 1.26%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $178.38 1.09%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $187.26 1.01%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $546.26 0.96%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $98.48 0.81%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $84.71 -5.34%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $66.26 -4.61%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $20.07 -4.47%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $614.54 -4.17%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $259.00 -4.02%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $859.66 -3.56%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $594.01 -3.32%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $719.69 -3.28%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $490.43 -3.17%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $25.17 -3.08%