US close: Stocks finish mixed as initial jobless claims fall below 1m
By Josh White
Date: Friday 14 Aug 2020
(Sharecast News) - US stocks finished mixed on Thursday, as data showed initial jobless claims fell below 1 million for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic hit in mid-March.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session down 0.29% at 27,896.72 and the S&P 500 was off 0.2% at 3,373.43, while the Nasdaq Composite managed gains of 0.27% to settle at 11,042.50.
Figures released earlier by the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims fell by 228,000 last week to 963,000.
Analysts had been expecting a level of 1.12m.
Meanwhile, continuing claims fell for the second week in a row to their lowest level since early April, although they remain at a historically high 15.49 million.
The $600-a-week jobless supplement expired on July 31. President Donald Trump last Saturday signed an executive order that included extending the supplement, although a reduced rate of $400.
"Let's not overstate how great the unemployment claims figure was," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.
"At 963k, it is still far more swollen than anything seen pre-pandemic.
"Nevertheless, it is another move in the right direction, shaving more than 150k off of analysts' estimates."
But the better-than-expected data came as investors were focused on trade issues after the US government said it would maintain 15% tariffs on Airbus aircraft and 25% tariffs on other European goods.
Relations between the US and China were also in focus, with officials from both countries set to meet on Saturday for a review of their deal.
In addition, hopes of an agreement between US Democrats and Republicans over further stimulus were dashed after President Donald Trump said it was "not going to happen".
On the corporate front, Uber fell 1.23% after chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi warned the company could be required to shut down its Californian operations for several months after a recent ruling requiring it to classify its drivers as full-time employees.
Vaccine development company Novavax rallied 7.12% after entering into a development and supply agreement with South Korea based SK Group subsidiary SK Bioscience for the antigen component of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate.
Shares of cinema chain AMC Entertainment surged 14.44% after it said it will charge just 15 cents a ticket when it reopens theatres on 20 August, to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Dow Jones - Risers
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $460.04 1.77%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $106.52 1.24%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $83.54 1.04%
3M Co. (MMM) $165.86 0.97%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $119.27 0.34%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $135.78 0.24%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $206.49 0.23%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $281.66 0.03%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $131.85 -0.03%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $42.72 -11.19%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $43.01 -2.45%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $41.00 -1.96%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $208.39 -1.76%
Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) $63.30 -1.54%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $140.67 -1.33%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $125.01 -1.32%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.56 -1.28%
American Express Co. (AXP) $100.42 -1.24%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $148.00 -1.11%
S&P 500 - Risers
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $28.21 3.79%
Keysight Technologies Inc. (KEYS) $103.20 3.65%
AES Corp. (AES) $17.79 3.07%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $1,194.93 2.93%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $238.19 2.86%
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $107.98 2.78%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $353.53 2.73%
FLIR Systems Inc. (FLIR) $37.53 2.68%
VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) $210.30 2.48%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $58.50 2.29%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $42.72 -11.19%
HollyFrontier Corp (HFC) $25.52 -6.25%
Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) $10.70 -6.06%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $11.84 -5.36%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $9.61 -5.23%
Truist Financial Corp. (TFC) $38.82 -4.88%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $46.14 -4.83%
Macerich Co (MAC) $7.90 -4.82%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $48.07 -4.76%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $18.50 -4.59%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $1,621.00 4.26%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,157.05 4.08%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $183.76 3.09%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $238.19 2.86%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $353.53 2.73%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $222.42 2.13%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $22.97 2.02%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $35.08 1.89%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $171.28 1.89%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $460.04 1.77%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $42.72 -11.19%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $46.14 -4.83%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $35.74 -2.80%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $28.70 -2.25%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $65.07 -2.15%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $113.41 -2.06%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $464.87 -2.04%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $88.50 -2.03%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $41.00 -1.96%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $97.27 -1.96%
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