(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Thursday after the blue-chip Dow Jones snapped its four-day win streak.
As of 1440 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.03% at 42,415.92, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.05% to 5,973.56 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.20% firmer at 19,500.31.
The Dow opened 11.82 points lower on Thursday, building on losses recorded in the previous session (91.90) as investors digested a flurry of disappointing economic data and battled with concerns about the fiscal outlook amid ongoing trade uncertainty.
Stocks traded higher early on Thursday after Chinese media outlet Xinhua revealed that Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping had a phone call together.
Also drawing an amount of investor attention on Thursday was news that Elon Musk had stepped up his attacks against Donald Trump's proposed "big, beautiful" tax-cut bill, stating it would push America into "debt slavery" as he urged Congress to "KILL the BILL".
On the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 31 May, according to the Department of Labor. Initial jobless claims rose by 8,000 to 247,000, up from the previous week's revised figure of 239,000, versus expectations of a drop to 235,000 to mark the highest reading since October 2024. Meanwhile, continuing claims dipped to 1.90m, down from the prior week's revised reading and below expectations of 1.91m, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, came in at 235,000, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average.
Elsewhere, America's trade gap narrowed to $61.6bn in April, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, down from March's $138.3bn gap for the lowest reading since August 2023. Imports fell 16.3% to a six-month low of $351.0bn, after jumping to an all-time high of $419.4bn a month earlier in anticipation of Donald Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" tariff announcements. Exports rose 3% to a record level of $289.4bn, led by sales of finished metal shapes, non-monetary gold and computers.
Finally, nonfarm labour productivity fell by 1.5% quarter-on-quarter in the three months ended 31 March, softer than initial estimates of 0.8% and Q424's reading and 1.7%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Q1's decline marked the first since Q222 and comes as output decreased 0.2% and hours worked advanced 1.3%. Year-on-year, productivity rose 1.3%.
In the corporate space, discount retailer Five Below traded higher in early hours after posting strong Q1 numbers and issuing solid Q2 guidance.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $28.32 1.76%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $78.32 1.46%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $62.77 0.64%
Visa Inc. (V) $368.00 0.58%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.39 0.30%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $463.87 0.19%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $11.25 0.18%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $265.53 0.12%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $64.39 0.05%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $137.37 -1.56%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $272.10 -1.52%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.29 -1.35%
3M Co. (MMM) $146.86 -0.89%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $287.01 -0.88%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $153.22 -0.78%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $264.22 -0.77%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $599.21 -0.77%
Boeing Co. (BA) $212.07 -0.68%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $99.35 -0.63%
S&P 500 - Risers
FMC Corp. (FMC) $42.31 5.05%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $59.70 4.72%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $123.68 4.38%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $52.16 4.17%
IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) $147.92 3.59%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $127.64 3.58%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $110.28 3.36%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $101.95 3.24%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $687.95 3.16%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $14.44 2.81%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $88.62 -8.37%
Flowserve Corp. (FLS) $47.41 -6.16%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $3.91 -4.87%
Gap Inc. (GAP) $21.03 -4.23%
Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $50.02 -4.00%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $126.54 -3.37%
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $80.52 -3.27%
HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $35.60 -3.23%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $157.08 -3.10%
Phillips 66 Common Stock (PSX) $112.50 -3.01%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $127.64 3.58%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $687.95 3.16%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $33.33 2.84%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $72.80 2.06%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $1,239.66 1.78%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $88.11 1.74%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $261.08 1.65%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $83.16 1.63%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $148.46 1.52%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $77.10 1.51%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $2.27 -18.23%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $88.62 -8.37%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $332.05 -3.55%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $61.63 -2.25%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $86.14 -1.83%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $465.64 -1.58%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $63.16 -1.30%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $56.11 -1.20%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $2,573.96 -1.09%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $142.51 -1.06%
26.87 (0.30%)
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