Stocks Fail To Hold Early Gains; Dow Settles Higher, S&P And Nasdaq Close Weak

U.S. stocks saw some heavy selling in the final hour of the session on Thursday as the mood turned a bit cautious amid concerns about mega-cap firms’ earnings.

Among the major averages, the Dow managed to settle higher, gaining 81.20 points or 0.20 percent at 39,935.07, a long way down from the day’s high of 40,438.82. The S&P 500, which advanced to 5,491.59, ended nearly 100 points down from that level, at 5,399.22, losing 27.91 points or 0.51 percent.

The Nasdaq ended with a loss of 160.69 points or 0.93 percent at 17,181.72, coming off a high of 17,544.46.

Stocks gained in strength earlier in the session thanks to data showing a sharper than expected acceleration in U.S. economic growth in the second quarter.

A report released by the Commerce Department showed real gross domestic product in the U.S. surged by 2.8% in the second quarter after jumping by 1.4% in the first quarter. Economists had expected GDP to increase by 2%.

The Commerce Department said the GDP growth primarily reflected increases in consumer spending, private inventory investment, and nonresidential fixed investment.

Compared to the first quarter, the acceleration in real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected an upturn in private inventory investment and an acceleration in consumer spending, the Commerce Department said.

On the inflation front, the report said the personal consumption expenditures price index increased 2.6% in the second quarter compared with an increase of 3.4% in the first quarter.

Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 2.9% in the second quarter compared with an increase of 3.7% in the first quarter.

A separate data from the Commerce Department said durable goods orders plunged by 6.6% in June after inching up 0.1% in May. Economists had expected durable goods orders to rise by 0.3%.

A report from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims fell to 235,000 in the week ended July 20th, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 245,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 238,000 from the 243,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Among the major losers in the session, Microsoft Corporation, Nvidia Corporation, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel Corporation, Micron Technology and Analog Devices ended down 1.4 to 4 percent.

Eli Lilly and Company ended down 4.5 percent. Honeywell International dropped 5.2 percent, Abbott Laboratories, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm Inc. also ended notably lower.

Tesla, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Home Depot, Abbvie Inc., Chevron Corporation, Salesforce.Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Danaher Corporation, GE Aerospace, Blackstone, Philip Morris International, Caterpillar, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America, Boeing Company and ADP ended with strong gains.

IBM rallied 4.3 percent. The company’s bottom line totaled $1.83 billion, or $1.96 per share in the second quarter, compared with $1.58 billion, or $1.72 per share, in last year’s second quarter.

In overseas trading, Asian stocks plunged on Thursday as a disappointing start of the mega-cap U.S. earnings season prompted investors to pull back on the artificial-intelligence frenzy.

A surprise rate cut in China also offered a reality check regarding the challenges facing the world’s second-largest economy.

European stocks closed lower on Thursday, weighed down by losses in technology sector following a sell-off in U.S. heavyweight stocks a day earlier due to disappointing quarterly earnings. Concerns over Chinese demand and weak German business sentiment data weighed as well on markets.
In commodities, gold futures for July ended down $61.40 or about 2.54 percent at $2,351.90 an ounce. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up by $0.69 at $78.28 a barrel.

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