Investing.com -- U.S. stocks inched lower on Thursday amid a sharp uptick in initial unemployment claims last week, as investors turn to Friday's October national employment report for more hints on whether the Federal Open Market Committee could raise short-term interest rates in December.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite index remained near two-month highs in spite of the minor declines, while the S&P 500 Composite index moved slightly lower for the second consecutive day. The Dow fell 4.15 or 0.02% to 17,863.43 on Thursday, while the NASDAQ dropped 14.74 or 0.29% to 5,127.74, amid heavy losses in technology and pharmaceutical stocks.
The S&P 500, meanwhile, lost 2.38 or 0.11% to 2,099.93, as six of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Energy and Basic Materials industries lagged, while stocks in the Consumer Services, Consumer Goods and Financials sectors led. The laggards each fell by at least 0.95% on the session.
On Friday morning, the Labor Department is expected to report that nonfarm payrolls increased by 190,000 last month after an extremely soft gain of 142,000 in September. Analysts also expect the unemployment rate to fall 0.1% to 5.0% and average hourly earnings to tick up by 0.2 to 0.2%. A robust report on Friday, followed by continued improvements in the labor market this month could convince the FOMC to raise its benchmark Federal Funds Rate when it meets next on Dec. 15-16. A rate hike is viewed as bearish for stocks, as investors exit their position in equities in favor of higher yields from U.S. Treasuries and other bonds.
The top performer on the Dow was UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (N:UNH), which gained 1.64 or 1.43% to 116.28. Shares in one of the nation's largest health care insurers are now up by more than 25% over the last year. The worst performer was Chevron Corporation (N:CVX), which lost 2.24 or 2.31% to 94.53 after U.S. crude futures nearly fell to $45 a barrel on Thursday, their lowest level in more than a week.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Autodesk Inc (O:ADSK), which jumped 5.01 or 8.66% to 62.84, after Sachem Head disclosed a 5.7% stake in the Silicon Valley-based software developer. In response, Autodesk CEO Carl Bass criticized the activist investors for focusing too heavily on short-term gains, according to a report from Bloomberg. The worst performer was Qualcomm Incorporated (O:QCOM), which plummeted 9.55 or 15.84% to 50.72 after reports surfaced that the chipmaker struggled to collect technology licensing fees for smartphones sold in China last quarter.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Ralph Lauren Corporation (N:RL), which surged 16.86 or 14.85% to 130.43 after the retailer reported stronger than expected earnings last quarter. At one point, Ralph Lauren (N:RL) soared as much as 19%, recording its highest one-day move since 2000. In September, the company announced that Stefan Larsson will replace founder Ralph Lauren as CEO, effective this month. Qualcomm was also the worst performer on the S&P 500, just below Endo International which plunged 8.78 or 14.51% to close at 51.71.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 1,576 to 1,494 margin.