Stocks mixed in volatile trading
Stocks were mixed in an up-and-down session Thursday, with blue chips weighed down by uncertainty over oil prices and a new investigation of the insurance industry. Tech stocks received a boost from strong earnings by eBay Inc.
The Dow Jones industrials were pressured by American International Group Inc., which missed estimates on its latest earnings and announced that it was the subject of a grand jury probe. And while pharmaceutical stocks were up on positive earnings news, Dow components IBM Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. were heavily sold off.
Worried investors saw a little relief from oil prices, which remained below the $55 per barrel mark. A barrel of light crude closed at $54.47, up 6 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“Considering where oil is and the mixed earnings we’ve had, I think the market’s holding in there valiantly,” said Joseph Battipaglia, chief investment officer at Ryan Beck & Co. “Tech stocks are providing a little leadership, but there’s no follow through. We’ll need a bigger catalyst to break out of this trading range we’re in.”
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 21.17, or 0.2 percent, to 9,865.76. The index had fallen below the Dow’s lowest close of the year to date, 9,814.59 on Aug. 12, earlier in the session.
Broader stock indicators were substantially higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 2.83, or 0.3 percent, at 1,106.49, and the tech-focused Nasdaq composite index gained 20.65, or 1.1 percent, to 1,953.62.
The markets were cheered somewhat by the Labor Department’s latest report on first-time jobless claims, which fell 25,000 to 329,000 last week, the lowest level since early September.
However, investors were disappointed with the latest reading of the Conference Board’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators fell for a fourth straight month in September. The index, which measures future economic potential, fell 0.1 percent for the month — a sign that the economy continues to lose momentum.
Positive earnings from European drug makers helped minimize blue chip losses in the healthcare sector. AstraZeneca PLC climbed 87 cents to $40.50 after it announced a 19 percent jump in profits, while Novartis AG gained 53 cents to $47.23 after it beat Wall Street expectations by 5 cents per share.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by nearly 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.67 billion shares, compared to 1.69 billion on Wednesday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 6.53, or 1.2 percent, at 576.66.
Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.85 percent. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 closed up 0.02 percent, France’s CAC-40 rose 0.6 percent for the session, and Germany’s DAX index gained 0.55 percent.