Investing.com – U.S. stocks traded flat with mixed signs, neither following China’s 6% crash nor Europe’s solid gains of 2%, as investors as the slump in oil prices continued and investors digested positive economic data that, on the downside, could back the possibility of the Fed hiking rates this year.
The Dow 30 rose 27 points or 0.16%, while the S&P 500 traded up 2 points or 0.11% while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite slipped 4 points or 0.09% at 16:30GMT or 11:30AM ET.
On the economic front, a U.S. Department of Labor report said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending February 20 increased by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 272,000 from the previous week’s total of 262,000. Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 8,000 to 270,000 last week. First-time jobless claims have held below the 300,000-level for 50 consecutive weeks, which is usually associated with a firming labor market.
Meanwhile, U.S. durable goods orders rose much more than expected in January, blowing past consensus and easing concerns over the health of the economy, U.S. Commerce Department data showed.
Several analysts commented that the positive data served as a “double-edged sword” as the firming labor market and rising consumption was sure to keep the possibility of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve (Fed) on the table.
As far as Fed officials are concerned, St. Louis Fed chief Jim Bullard stated that the risks of a worldwide recession are not “particularly high right now”, though he admitted having concerns about the low levels of inflation expectations.
Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart warned on Thursday that increasing rates creates risks for U.S. banks as they adjust to a monetary policy environment that they have not had to deal with for over a decade. “Rising rates will create challenges in managing net interest margins and risks,” Lockhart said at a banking conference in Atlanta. He added that the Fed’s decision on when to undertake the next hike would be data dependent.
San Francisco Fed President John Williams is scheduled to give his outlook on the economy at 17:00GMT, or 12:00PM ET.
Meanwhile, crude continued to weigh on market sentiment with concerns over a supply glut persisting after weekly stockpile data on Wednesday showed that U.S. oil inventories rose to an all-time high last week.
Crude oil futures for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange sank $0.76, or 2.23%, to trade at $31.40 a barrel by 16:30GMT, or 11:30AM ET, while Brent oil fell $0.63 or 1.86% to $33.73.
In company news, shares of Salesforce.com (N:CRM) jumped almost 9% after posting better-than-expected forward guidance Wednesday after the U.S. market close.
On the downside, HP Inc (N:HPQ) shares were down nearly 7% after the PC maker reported declining quarterly earnings and sales that missed analyst estimates.
Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA (N:BUD) shares fell about 3% after the brewer posted disappointing fourth quarter net profit due to challenges in key emerging markets.
Kraft Heinz Co (O:KHC), Herbalife (N:HLF), Gap Inc (N:GPS), Baidu Inc (O:BIDU) and Intuit (O:INTU) are among those posting results after the close.