Nasdaq, S&P 500 Regaining Ground But Dow Seeing Further Downside

After ending the previous session sharply lower, the major U.S. stock indexes are turning in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. While the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are regaining ground, the narrower Dow is seeing further downside.

Currently, the Dow is down 155.38 points or 0.4 percent at 42,359.57, but the Nasdaq is up 84.66 points or 0.5 percent at 18,361.32 and the S&P 500 is up 6.46 points or 0.1 percent at 5,803.88.

The rebound by the tech-heavy Nasdaq is partly due to a surge by shares of Tesla (TSLA), with the electric vehicle maker soaring 17.0 percent.

The spike by Tesla comes after the company reported better than expected third quarter earnings and CEO Elon Musk said his “best guess” is “vehicle growth” will reach 20 to 30 percent next year.

Shares of UPS (UPS) are also seeing significant strength after the delivery giant reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, a nosedive by shares of IBM (IBM) is weighing on the Dow, with the tech giant plunging by 6.6 percent after reporting weaker than expected third quarter revenues.

Fellow Dow component Honeywell (HON) has also tumbled by 3.8 percent after the conglomerate reported better than expected third quarter earnings but revenues missed estimates.

Boeing (BA) has also moved to the downside after the aerospace giant’s machinists union rejected a new labor deal, extending a six-week strike.

Sector News

While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, gold stocks have moved sharply lower despite an increase by the price of the precious metal.

Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index is tumbling by 2.7 percent, pulling back further off Tuesday’s four-year closing high.

Airline stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, as reflected by the 1.2 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Southwest Airlines (LUV) is posting a steep loss despite reporting better than expected third quarter results.

Oil service are also under pressure amid a modest decrease by the price of crude oil, while housing stocks have moved notably higher following the release of a Commerce Department report showing a spike by new home sales in September.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.3 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.7 percent, although Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after moving notably lower over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 4.0 basis points at 4.202 percent.

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