By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- U.S. stock markets opened mixed on Thursday, after a second straight rise in weekly claims for jobless benefits acted as a reminder that the economy's progress out of lockdown is still uneven.
By 9:35 AM ET (1435 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 15 points, or less than 0.1%, at 33,432 points. The S&P 500 was up, however, by 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite was up by 0.9%, as the market digested Wednesday's news that the Biden administration's tax plans will likely hit a much smaller number of companies than at first thought.
Earlier, the Labor Department had reported that initial jobless claims rose to 744,000 last week, disappointing hopes that they would resume their downward trend. Economists had predicted a number of around 680,000. The broadest measure of those claiming unemployment-related benefits - including two pandemic-related schemes - inched down by 51,000 to 18.16 million.
The data pushed the yields on 10-Year Treasury bonds down by a couple more basis points to 1.64%. They're now down some 11 basis points over the last week, and bank shares such as JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) all lost more than 1% in early trading in response the fresh pressure on their lending margins.
Among early movers, Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) stock fell 4.6% after the company issued underwhelming guidance for the coming year. Operating margins in its fiscal fourth quarter also suffered, especially due to the effects of wildfires on its wines division.
Likewise, ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) stock opened down 2.2% after it said it expects operating margins to be compressed in the next three months, not least due to higher input costs.
Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) stock rose 2.3% after it announced a deal to expand its distribution through major grocery chains including Kroger (NYSE:KR), Wegmans and Target (NYSE:TGT).
There was also fresh evidence of the strains felt by the automotive industry due to the ongoing global shortage of semiconductors, as General Motors (NYSE:GM) warned that it will temporarily idle more North American plants due to chip shortages. Volkswagen (OTC:VWAPY) also said it couldn't rule out further "adjustments" to production volumes this year. GM stock, which has surged in recent weeks to its highest since the company emerged from bankruptcy after the Great Recession, fell 2.4%. VW ADRs fell 0.8%.