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Financial Markets 05/16 15:31
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks edged back from their record heights Thursday
after the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly topped the 40,000 level for the
first time.
The Dow slipped 38.62 points, or 0.1%, to 39,869.38. The S&P 500 index,
which is much more widely followed on Wall Street, dipped 11.05, or 0.2%, to
5,297.10, and the Nasdaq composite fell 44.07, or 0.3%, to 16,698.32. All three
indexes had rallied on Wednesday to all-time highs.
Deere weighed on the market and sank 4.7% despite reporting stronger profit
for its latest quarter than expected. It cut its forecast for upcoming profit
this fiscal year, below analysts' estimates, as farmers buy fewer tractors and
other equipment.
Homebuilders also helped drag the market lower following a
weaker-than-expected report on the housing industry. They gave back some of
their big gains from the day before, when hopes for lower mortgage rates had
sent them sharply higher. D.R. Horton sank 4.2%, Lennar fell 3.3% and
PulteGroup dropped 2.8%.
Also sinking were GameStop and AMC Entertainment, which slid for a second
straight day following their jaw-dropping starts to the week. They've been
moving more on excitement drummed up by investors than any changes to their
financial prospects.
GameStop fell 30%, though it's still up nearly 59% for the week so far. AMC
Entertainment lost 15.3%.
Such drops helped offset a 7% jump for Walmart, which reported stronger
profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The retailer also said
its revenue for the year could top the forecasted range it had earlier given.
Walmart's strength could be an encouraging signal for the broader economy.
Worries have been rising about whether U.S. households can keep up with
still-high inflation and more expensive credit-card payments, particularly
households at the lower end of the income spectrum.
Target, which reports its quarterly results next week, climbed following
Walmart's report, along with other retailers like Dollar General and Dollar
Tree. Each added at least 2%.
Chubb rose 4.7% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it had
built an ownership stake in the insurer.
Under Armour swung between losses and gains after it warned that its revenue
will be likely down by "a low double-digit percentage rate" this upcoming
fiscal year, citing weaker demand from wholesalers and "inconsistent execution
across our business."
The company announced a restructuring plan to cut costs and also announced a
program to buy back up to $500 million of its stock. It dropped 1.3%.
Stronger-than-expected profit reports have been one of the main reasons U.S.
stock indexes have broadly jumped through May to records following a tough
April. Another has been revived hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to
cut its main interest rate at least once this year. The Fed has been keeping
its federal funds rate at the highest level in more than two decades.
A string of worse-than-expected reports on inflation at the start of the
year had put the potential for such cuts in jeopardy, but some more encouraging
data has since arrived.
Treasury yields have largely eased in May as hopes rose that the economy
could hit the hoped-for sweet spot, where it cools enough because of high
interest rates to stifle inflation but not so much that it causes a bad
recession.
Yields rose Thursday following some mixed data on the economy, including the
report that hurt homebuilder stocks, which showed the industry broke ground on
fewer projects than expected.
One report showed slightly more workers applied for unemployment benefits
last week than economists expected, though the number remains low compared with
history. Others said manufacturing growth in the mid-Atlantic region was weaker
than hoped and import prices rose more than forecast.
"Today's numbers were in line with the overall theme of the week -- nothing
dramatic, but showing signs of a steady-to-cooling economy," said Chris Larkin,
managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.37% from 4.35% late
Wednesday. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for
action by the Fed, rose to 4.79% from 4.72%.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were modestly lower in much of Europe after
mostly rising in Asia. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.6% after reopening
following a holiday, while Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.4%.
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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
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