US close: Stocks mostly flat amid bond sell-off, oil price surge

(Sharecast News) - US stocks finished mostly flat on Thursday as another rise in oil prices and Treasury yields kept pressure on equities, with investors also digesting fresh labour-market and housing data.

The Dow fell 0.31%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite finished more or less unchanged.

"The continued ascent in US borrowing costs is causing jitters on the markets," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

"High bond yields normally create headwinds for equities [...] yet the stock market hasn't experienced a sharp correction today. Instead, we're simply seeing minor pullbacks as equity investors remain comforted by decent corporate earnings growth, potentially taking the view that oil price pressures are only temporary."

A renewed bond sell-off pushed long-dated borrowing costs to multi-decade highs. The yield on the 30-year Treasury touched around 5.46%, its highest level since 2004, while the 10-year yield topped the 5.2% mark for the first time since 2007, as investors weighed the inflationary implications of elevated energy prices and resilient economic activity.

Oil prices were also higher as uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran conflict continued to underpin concerns about global supplies. Brent crude futures settled at $107.04 a barrel, up 3.8% on the day.

In economic data, initial US unemployment claims unexpectedly declined to 197,000 in the week ended 19 September, down 1,000 from the previous week's revised level. The four-week moving average fell to 202,250 from 204,000.

US new home sales rose 6.4% in August to a year-to-date high of 684,000, well ahead of the 620,000 consensus forecast.

Separate figures showed that the US current-account deficit widened by $33.4bn to $246.0bn in the second quarter. The shortfall was equivalent to 3.0% of GDP, compared with 2.7% in the preceding three months.

On the corporate front, MGM Resorts was among the heaviest fallers after Barry Diller's People Inc withdrew its proposal to take the casino and resort operator private. People Inc already owns 27% of the company but "didn't feel the mix was coming together in the way we had hoped", according to CEO Diller.

Oracle was also under pressure amid continued concerns surrounding its large-scale data-centre expansion and associated financing requirements.

Meta Platforms moved higher as enthusiasm around its recently launched Muse AI assistant continued to support the shares.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $127.39 4.74%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $105.56 2.03%

Visa Inc. (V) $367.98 1.79%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $47.32 1.72%

American Express Co. (AXP) $305.66 1.23%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $375.01 1.00%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $270.68 0.56%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $362.39 0.55%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $338.56 0.31%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $238.22 0.27%

Dow Jones - Fallers

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $227.06 -2.45%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $406.04 -2.05%

3M Co. (MMM) $167.52 -1.63%

Boeing Co. (BA) $196.80 -1.57%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $292.18 -1.53%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $923.29 -1.40%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $335.92 -1.39%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $145.68 -1.16%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $497.93 -0.90%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $805.25 -0.83%

S&P 500 - Risers

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $273.90 8.87%

Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $14.68 6.07%

Revvity, Inc. (RVTY) $150.68 6.03%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $127.39 4.74%

Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) $172.84 4.55%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $777.59 4.53%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $322.00 4.26%

Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $351.86 4.26%

Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $238.98 3.77%

Apache Corp. (APA) $43.68 2.82%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $23.07 -14.75%

MGM Resorts International (MGM) $33.69 -10.99%

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%

Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $101.59 -6.56%

Rollins Inc. (ROL) $30.40 -6.43%

Xylem Inc (XYL) $102.66 -5.50%

Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $166.12 -5.48%

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $145.63 -4.91%

Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) $20.14 -4.87%

DaVita Inc (DVA) $174.67 -4.62%

S&P 500 - Risers

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $273.90 8.87%

Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $14.68 6.07%

Revvity, Inc. (RVTY) $150.68 6.03%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $127.39 4.74%

Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) $172.84 4.55%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $777.59 4.53%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $322.00 4.26%

Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $351.86 4.26%

Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $238.98 3.77%

Apache Corp. (APA) $43.68 2.82%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $23.07 -14.75%

MGM Resorts International (MGM) $33.69 -10.99%

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%

Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $101.59 -6.56%

Rollins Inc. (ROL) $30.40 -6.43%

Xylem Inc (XYL) $102.66 -5.50%

Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $166.12 -5.48%

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $145.63 -4.91%

Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) $20.14 -4.87%

DaVita Inc (DVA) $174.67 -4.62%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $273.90 8.87%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $127.39 4.74%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $777.59 4.53%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $322.00 4.26%

Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $351.51 1.74%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $424.91 1.45%

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $165.35 1.37%

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $16.49 1.29%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $190.99 1.21%

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $26.63 1.12%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $23.07 -14.75%

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%

Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $101.59 -6.56%

Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $9.42 -5.23%

Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $9.23 -4.99%

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $145.63 -4.91%

Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $42.67 -3.84%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $277.13 -3.76%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $9.53 -3.64%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $87.81 -3.50%