NEW YORK, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday, thanks to Tesla's strong results, while the Dow extended its decline as IBM's revenue miss weighed on the index.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 140.59 points, or 0.33 percent, to 42,374.36. The S&P 500 added 12.44 points, or 0.21 percent, to 5,809.86, and snapped a three-day run of losses. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 138.83 points, or 0.76 percent, to 18,415.49.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with materials and industrials leading the laggards by losing 1.42 percent and 0.71 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, consumer discretionary and communication services led the gainers by going up 3.24 percent and 0.24 percent, respectively.
In economic data, the number of jobless claims in the United States unexpectedly dropped to 227,000 last week, down from an upwardly revised 242,000 the previous week, according to the Labor Department on Thursday. The data has been affected by volatility in states recently impacted by hurricanes.
Tesla surged nearly 22 percent, becoming the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 after reporting third-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations. This marked Tesla's best day since 2013, as investors welcomed its CEO Elon Musk's forecast that EV sales could grow 20 percent to 30 percent next year.
UPS shares saw 5.28 percent gains following the company's third-quarter results, which surpassed analysts' expectations for both revenue and earnings, contributing to the stock's strong performance.
On the downside, IBM dragged the Dow, falling over 6 percent after narrowly missing consulting revenue estimates, while Boeing dropped 1.2 percent as its machinists rejected a new labor contract.
So far, around 160 S&P 500 companies have reported earnings, but overall growth has been lackluster. The blended growth rate, which combines reported earnings and estimates for upcoming reports, shows S&P 500 earnings growth of just 3.4 percent year-over-year, falling short of analysts' projections.
"The pressure on the market has been from the rate side," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Asset Management. "That's really what has dampened equity market enthusiasm, and you haven't had big enough earnings news yet to drive the market to a new high ... we're also not seeing as broad a momentum as we were seeing."
