US close: Stocks lower as earnings take centre stage

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks were in the red at the close of trading on Thursday as Q4 earnings season began to pick up steam. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.16% at 43,153.13, while the S&P 500 lost 0.21% to 5,937.34 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.89% weaker at 19,338.29.

The Dow closed 68.42 points lower on Thursday, taking a small bite out of strong gains recorded in the previous session following the release of last month's tamer-than-expected consumer price index and solid Q4 bank earnings.

Thursday's primary focus was another batch of quarterly earnings from the nation's largest names in banking, with Morgan Stanley reporting that profits had more than doubled on the back of a solid dealmaking performance, while Bank of America reported results that topped expectations on both the top and bottom lines thanks to better-than-expected investment banking and interest income.

UnitedHealth reported revenues that missed Wall Street expectations in its first set of quarterly results since the fatal shooting of the head of its insurance business last month, while retailer Target hiked its Q4 outlook on the back of a solid holiday trading period.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note shed almost four basis points to 4.618% in the session after slumping 14 basis points on Wednesday.

On the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 11 January, according to the Department of Labor. Initial jobless claims rose by 14,000 to 217,000, firmly above market expectations for a reading of 210,000 and marking a sharp increase from the upwardly revised, 11-month low in the previous week. Continuing claims unexpectedly fell to 1.85m, while the four-week moving average came to 212,750, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average.

Elsewhere, retail sales increased 0.4% month-on-month in December, according to the Census Bureau, the lowest reading in four months compared to an upwardly revised 0.8% increase in November and below forecasts for a reading of 0.6%.

On another note, the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index climbed to 44.3 in January, the highest reading since April 2021, up from a revised reading of -10.9 in December and better than market forecasts for a reading of -5.

Moving on, US import prices increased to 141.50 in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from 141.30 in November, while export prices rose to 149.20 points last month, up from 148.80 points a month earlier.

Still on data, US business inventories rose by 0.1% in November, according to the Census Bureau, up from a revised flat reading in October and matching market expectations. Stocks increased at manufacturers and retailers, up 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, but fell 0.2% at wholesalers. On an annualised basis, inventories were up 2.6%.

Finally, the National Association of Housebuilders' housing market index increased to 47 in January, the highest reading in nine months and up from 46 in the previous two months. The current sales conditions gauge rose three points to 51 but sales expectations for the next six months fell six points to 60, principally due to the current elevated interest rate environment.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $12.92 3.11% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $147.77 1.93% Boeing Co. (BA) $168.93 1.64% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $380.55 1.51% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $222.66 1.20% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $612.99 1.17% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $40.87 1.16% 3M Co. (MMM) $139.18 1.02% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $242.37 1.00% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $409.33 0.80%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $510.59 -6.04% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $228.26 -4.04% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $106.46 -1.59% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $279.74 -0.91% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $424.58 -0.41% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $320.00 -0.36% Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.66 -0.30% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $59.80 -0.30% American Express Co. (AXP) $311.48 -0.27% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $91.30 -0.04%

S&P 500 - Risers

American Tower Corp (Reit) (AMT) $190.07 5.41% Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $78.07 4.76% Crown Castle International (CCI) $90.71 4.70% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $186.48 4.54% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $747.26 4.33% Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $7.20 4.20% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $79.22 4.03% Morgan Stanley (MS) $135.81 4.03% Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $110.25 3.83% Stryker Corp. (SYK) $381.79 3.58%

S&P 500 - Fallers

PVH Corp. (PVH) $92.20 -6.88% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $510.59 -6.04% US Bancorp (USB) $48.03 -5.64% Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $187.36 -5.14% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $228.26 -4.04% Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $20.30 -3.20% Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $8.31 -2.69% M&T Bank Corp. (MTB) $196.10 -2.37% Intuit Inc. (INTU) $607.19 -2.29% Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $32.16 -1.95%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $186.48 4.54% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $747.26 4.33% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $79.22 4.03% Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $750.01 3.26% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $12.92 3.11% Hasbro Inc (HAS) $57.74 2.81% Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $58.00 2.40% Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $426.82 2.29% Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $186.75 1.83% Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $146.84 1.78%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $187.36 -5.14% NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $99.35 -4.40% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $228.26 -4.04% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $413.82 -3.36% Intuit Inc. (INTU) $607.19 -2.29% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $133.62 -1.92% QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $161.41 -1.82% Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $416.95 -1.72% Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $214.99 -1.48% Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $56.17 -1.46%