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After-Hours: CLOSING UPDATE: U.S. Stock Indexes End Near Flat; Commodities Finish Higher on Quantitative Easing Expectations
4:08 PM, Aug 9, 2012 -- U.S. stocks ended near even Thursday as better-than-expected jobless claims data failed to inspire.
Prior to opening bell, the Commerce Department reported that jobless claims unexpectedly declined to 361,000 from 365,000 last week. The median forecast of 43 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for an increase to 370,000. The 4-week moving average increased to 368,250 from 365,500.
In other economic data, the Bloomberg Consumer Confidence Index was down from -41.9 to -39.7, its lowest level since May. According to Bloomberg, levels under -40 are associated with severe economic distress.
The U.S. trade deficit shrank to $42.9 bln from a prior level of $48.7 bln and better than the consensus for a deficit of $47.5 bln. Imports fell 1.5%, adding to May's 0.8% decrease, while exports advanced 0.9%, continuing its 0.3% gain in May.
Despite a mixed bag in the equities markets, commodities managed to inch out some gains, a fact analysts are attributing to lingering hopes of more quantitative easing in key economies. As long as the markets expect another round of easing, prices on commodities will inch up, which in turn will fuel concerns that inflation will become a problem.
Gold for December delivery rose $4.20, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,620.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude for September delivery added a penny to end at $93.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Here's where the markets stood at end-of-day:
US MARKETS
Dow Jones Industrial Index down 10.45 (-0.08%) to 13,165.19
S&P 500 up 0.58 (+0.04%) to 1,402.80
Nasdaq Composite Index up 7.39 (+0.25%) to 3,018.64
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
FTSE 100 is down 1.59 (-0.03%) to 5,844.33
DAX is down 5.82 (-0.08%) to 6,960.33
CAC 40 is up 14.40 (+0.42%) to 3,452.66
Nikkei 225 is up 97.44 (+1.10%) to 8,978.60
Hang Seng Index is up 203.95 (+1.02%) to 20,269.47
Shanghai China Composite Index is up 13.11 (+0.61%) to 2,174.10
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) SGI, Reports Q4 Results
(+) MINI, Posts Slight Beats on Q2 EPS
(+) GMET, Amends Credit Facility to Avoid Deficiency
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) WIFI, Q2 EPS, Revenue Miss; Guides Q3, FY12 Below Estimate
(-) DRL, Swings to Loss in Q2
(-) EDMC, Q2 Revenues Below Estimates
4:08 PM, Aug 9, 2012 -- U.S. stocks ended near even Thursday as better-than-expected jobless claims data failed to inspire.
Prior to opening bell, the Commerce Department reported that jobless claims unexpectedly declined to 361,000 from 365,000 last week. The median forecast of 43 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for an increase to 370,000. The 4-week moving average increased to 368,250 from 365,500.
In other economic data, the Bloomberg Consumer Confidence Index was down from -41.9 to -39.7, its lowest level since May. According to Bloomberg, levels under -40 are associated with severe economic distress.
The U.S. trade deficit shrank to $42.9 bln from a prior level of $48.7 bln and better than the consensus for a deficit of $47.5 bln. Imports fell 1.5%, adding to May's 0.8% decrease, while exports advanced 0.9%, continuing its 0.3% gain in May.
Despite a mixed bag in the equities markets, commodities managed to inch out some gains, a fact analysts are attributing to lingering hopes of more quantitative easing in key economies. As long as the markets expect another round of easing, prices on commodities will inch up, which in turn will fuel concerns that inflation will become a problem.
Gold for December delivery rose $4.20, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,620.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude for September delivery added a penny to end at $93.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Here's where the markets stood at end-of-day:
US MARKETS
Dow Jones Industrial Index down 10.45 (-0.08%) to 13,165.19
S&P 500 up 0.58 (+0.04%) to 1,402.80
Nasdaq Composite Index up 7.39 (+0.25%) to 3,018.64
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
FTSE 100 is down 1.59 (-0.03%) to 5,844.33
DAX is down 5.82 (-0.08%) to 6,960.33
CAC 40 is up 14.40 (+0.42%) to 3,452.66
Nikkei 225 is up 97.44 (+1.10%) to 8,978.60
Hang Seng Index is up 203.95 (+1.02%) to 20,269.47
Shanghai China Composite Index is up 13.11 (+0.61%) to 2,174.10
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) SGI, Reports Q4 Results
(+) MINI, Posts Slight Beats on Q2 EPS
(+) GMET, Amends Credit Facility to Avoid Deficiency
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) WIFI, Q2 EPS, Revenue Miss; Guides Q3, FY12 Below Estimate
(-) DRL, Swings to Loss in Q2
(-) EDMC, Q2 Revenues Below Estimates