Stocks closed little changed on the day, giving back their earlier gains with a sharp drop in June home sales and mixed corporate earnings offsetting early strength tied to an earnings beat from Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and eight-year low in initial jobless claims. The S&P 500 touched another record high soon after the open, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average was weighed down by missed sales from component stock Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and a downgrade in Boeing (NYSE:BA) at Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) that caused the airplane maker to lose another 2%. The NASDAQ closed with a small loss despite a record high in Facebook and 4% gain in Pandora (NYSE:P) ahead of its earnings release post-bell.
Like corporate earnings, Thursday's economic data was a mixed bag, though it was the 8.1% drop in new home sales for June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 406,000 that generated the most attention. Analysts were predicting home sales to fall 5.7% to 475,000. Also, home sales in May were revised downward to a SAAR of 442,000 from 504,000 initially.
While China and Europe all reported stronger manufacturing activity, the purchasing managers index in the U.S. was revised to 56.3 in July from 57.5 initially. This is down from 57.3 in June and analyst estimates to remain unrevised at 57.5.
But on the plus side, initial jobless claims fell 19,000 to 284,000 for the week ended July 19, an eight year low, and significantly better than the 8,000 increase the street expected. While the steep drop was attributed to automaker retooling and seasonal factors, the headline number grabbed Wall Street's attention and gave futures a boost into the open.
Finally, the Kansas City Federal Reserve reported an increase in their manufacturing index for July to 9.0 from 6.0 the month prior, beating estimates for the index to remain unchanged.
For Friday, durable goods orders are expected to increase 0.5% in June, partially offsetting a 1.0% drop the month prior.
Here's Where The Markets Stood At The Close
US MARKETS
- Dow 30 Index was down 2.8 points (-0.02%) at 17,083
- S&P 500 was up just under 1 point (+0.05%) at 1,987
- NASDAQ Composite Index was down 1.5 point (-0.04%) at 4,472
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
- FTSE 100 was up 0.34%
- Nikkei 225 was down 0.29%
- Hang Seng Index was up 0.71%
- Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.28%
UPSIDE MOVERS
- (+) DWCH (+14.51%) Reported record high revenue
- (+) TRLA (+32.43%) Rumored takeover by Zillow (Z)
- (+) LOGI (+14.63%) Beat Q1 estimates, boosted operating income outlook
- (+) UA (+14.71%) Beat earnings estimates by $0.01, raises outlook
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
- (-) KEM (-14.88%) Reported a wider than expected Q1 results
- (-) WMAR (-8.12%) Missed Q2 estimates, sets FY 14 below street estimates
- (-) GPRC (-27.78%) DTC intends to suspend all book entry services for GPRC shares.
- (-) ANGI (-19.27%) Reported a Q2 loss of $0.31/share vs estimates for $0.24 loss, revenue miss
After Hours Stock News From Midnight Trader.
Copyright © 2014 MT Newswires, a Division of MidnightTrader, Inc.