U.S. flags hang at the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 21, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
NEW YORK: US stocks were lower in light trading on Thursday as a fall in Apple’s shares weighed.
Apple fell 0.8% to US$116.38 after Nokia said it had filed a number of lawsuits against the iPhone maker for patent infringement. The stock was the biggest drag on all three major indexes.
The market showed little reaction to data showing that the US economy grew faster than initially thought in the third quarter, notching up its best performance in two years.
Gross domestic product increased at a 3.5% annual rate instead of the previously reported 3.2% pace, the Commerce Department said in its third GDP estimate.
“With less traders on their desks and most investors planning where to spend their New Year’s Eve, markets have clearly entered the holiday mood,” said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM.
“We can barely see any significant moves in equities, fixed income or even currency markets today, suggesting that more consolidation is expected throughout the remaining days of 2016.”
US stocks have rallied since the Nov 8 election, with the Dow up about 9% and the S&P 6% as investors expect the economy to benefit from President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for deregulation and infrastructure spending.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been threatening to breach the historic 20,000 mark for the last several days, but has failed to do so.
At 9:39am ET (1439 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average was down 26.77 points, or 0.13%, at 19,915.19.
The S&P 500 was down 5 points, or 0.22%, at 2,260.18.
The Nasdaq Composite was down 14.37 points, or 0.26%, at 5,457.06.
Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the consumer discretionary index’s 0.40% fall leading the decliners.
Other economic data showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose to a six-month high last week, but remained below a level that is associated with labor market strength.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 21,000 to 275,000 for the week ended Dec 17.
Micron Technology shares jumped 11.6% to US$22.97 after the chipmaker’s profit forecast beat expectations.
Red Hat fell 12.2% to US$70.20 after the Linux OS distributor’s quarterly revenue fell below estimates.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,489 to 1,075. On the Nasdaq, 1,327 issues fell and 866 advanced.
The S&P 500 index showed five new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 33 new highs and 21 new lows. - Reuters
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