US open: Stocks mixed as traders digest data points

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Thursday as major indices struggled to continue their recent winning streak. As of 1550 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.44% at 38,594.25, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.15% to 5,008.36 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.21% to 15,825.99.

The Dow opened 169.98 points higher on Thursday, roughly matching gains recorded in the previous session.

Economic data will continue to be the session's primary focus, with the New York Fed's Empire State manufacturing index surging to -2.4 in February from -43.7 in January, well and truly beating market forecasts for a reading of -15.

On another note, factory sector activity in the mid-Atlantic region improved significantly in February, the results of a closely-followed survey revealed. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing sector gauge jumped from a reading of -10.6 in January to 5.2 for February. Economists had pencilled-in a reading of -8.0.

Elsewhere, Americans reined in their spending unexpectedly at the start of 2024. According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, retail sales volumes dropped at a month-on-month pace of 0.8% in January to reach $695.78bn. That was on top of a two-tenths of a percentage point downward revision to the prior month's month-on-month gain to 0.4%.

Still on data, the US labour market continued to show only limited signs of easing during the previous week. According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms initial unemployment claims dropped by 8,000 over the week ended 10 February to reach 212,000. Economists had forecast a reading of 220,000. The four-week moving average meanwhile jumped by 5,750 to 218,500, while secondary unemployment claims, referencing the week that finished on 3 February, rose by 30,000 to reach 1.895m.

Finally, the National Association of Housebuilder's housing market index increased to 48 in February, the highest reading in six months, up from 44 in January to beat forecasts of 46.

In the corporate space, Cisco headed south in early trading after the tech giant revealed it would be making a swathe of layoffs and issued some weak forward sales projections, while Tripadvisor traded higher on the back of quarterly numbers that beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $22.17 2.90% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $54.66 2.02% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $384.15 1.62% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $178.86 1.61% Intel Corp. (INTC) $44.85 1.50% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $185.95 1.30% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $157.57 1.18% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $218.74 0.98% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $152.46 0.96% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $126.98 0.92%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $49.46 -1.64% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $181.87 -1.24% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $405.18 -1.05% 3M Co. (MMM) $91.92 -0.54% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $288.51 -0.54% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $168.35 -0.15% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $358.67 0.12% Nike Inc. (NKE) $106.49 0.15% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $59.42 0.21%

S&P 500 - Risers

CBRE Group Inc (CBRE) $92.97 7.00% Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) $227.52 4.84% Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) $872.16 4.73% TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $26.47 4.54% Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $38.59 4.49% Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $31.36 4.46% Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $119.25 4.24% AES Corp. (AES) $16.75 3.78% Kohls Corp. (KSS) $28.45 3.72% Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $44.83 3.68%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $4.15 -12.08% Deere & Co. (DE) $365.59 -4.99% Rollins Inc. (ROL) $42.31 -4.38% Genuine Parts Co. (GPC) $139.65 -3.05% Ventas Inc. (VTR) $44.25 -2.98% Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $141.82 -2.82% Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $143.21 -2.67% Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.75 -2.61% Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH) $224.18 -1.72% CME Group Inc. (CME) $211.56 -1.68%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.04 11.21% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $194.69 3.17% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $145.10 3.10% Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $75.85 2.94% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $22.17 2.90% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $23.78 2.77% Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $8.51 2.53% Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $309.99 2.39% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $137.89 2.28% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $19.03 2.20%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $141.82 -2.82% Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $143.21 -2.67% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $49.46 -1.64% Hasbro Inc (HAS) $52.00 -1.31% Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $296.81 -1.31% Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $168.76 -1.30% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $181.87 -1.24% Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $163.49 -1.09% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $405.18 -1.05% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $732.44 -0.89%