Stocks Close Nearly Flat After Choppy Trading Day - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After trending higher in the past few sessions, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Thursday. Despite the lackluster performance, the S&P 500 still managed to tick up to another new record closing high.

The major averages eventually ended the day mixed, although they were all nearly flat. While the Nasdaq edged down 3.51 points or 0.1 percent to 4,359.33, the Dow crept up 14.84 points or 0.1 percent to 16,921.46 and the S&P 500 inched up 2.50 points or 0.1 percent at 1,959.48.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following the recent upward trend.

Traders seemed to shrug off a batch of largely upbeat U.S. economic data, including a report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showing an unexpected acceleration in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index of current general activity climbed to 17.8 in June from 15.4 in May, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity.

The increase came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the Philly Fed Index to drop to a reading of 14.0.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed a modest pullback in initial jobless claims in the week ended June 14th.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 312,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 318,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to drop to 313,000.

The Conference Board also released a report showing that its index of leading economic indicators rose for the fourth straight month in May.

Among individual stocks, shares of Pier 1 Imports (PIR) came under pressure after the retailer reported weaker than expected first quarter earnings and provided disappointing guidance.

Drug store giant Rite Aid (RAD) also moved to the downside after reporting first quarter earnings that fell sharply year-over-year due to higher drug costs and reimbursement rate reductions.

On the other hand, shares of BlackBerry (BBRY) moved sharply higher on the day after the smartphone maker reported a narrower than expected first quarter loss.

Sector News

While most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, substantial strength was visible among gold stocks. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surged up by 5.2 percent, reaching its best closing level in three months.

The rally by gold stocks came amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August delivery jumping $41.40 to $1,314.10 an ounce.

Utilities, tobacco, and commercial real estate stocks also saw some strength on the day, although buying interest was relatively subdued.

Meanwhile, networking and computer hardware stocks moved to the downside on the day, contributing to the modest loss posted by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region once again turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.6 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index tumbled by 1.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved higher on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both advanced by 0.7 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries turned lower over the courses of the session after seeing early strength. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 2.622 percent after hitting a low of 2.564 percent.

Looking Ahead

While Friday represents a "quadruple witching" day, trading activity may be somewhat subdued amid a lack of major U.S. economic news.

On the earnings front, business software giant Oracle (ORCL) is among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.