Dow Reaches Record Closing High Despite Choppy Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Extending the trend seen over the past several sessions, stocks turned in another lackluster performance during trading on Thursday. Despite the choppy trading on the day, the Dow reached a new record closing high.

The major averages ended the day modestly higher, adding to the slim gains posted in the previous session. The Dow climbed 63.21 points or 0.3 percent to 24,837.51, the Nasdaq edged up 10.82 points or 0.2 percent to 6,950.16 and the S&P 500 rose 4.92 points or 0.2 percent to 2,687.54.

The modest strength on Wall Street may partly have reflected so-called window dressing, as investors looked to polish their portfolios going into the end of the year.

Nonetheless, many traders remained away from their desks ahead of the New Year's weekend, leading to another light trading day.

Traders largely shrugged off the latest economic news, including a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly came in unchanged in the week ended December 23rd.

The report said initial jobless claims came in at 245,000, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised level. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 240,000.

A separate report from MNI Indicators showed Chicago-area business activity unexpectedly expanded at a faster rate in the month of December.

MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer climbed to 67.6 in December from 63.9 in November, with a reading above 50 indicating growth.

The increase surprised economists, who had expected the business barometer to drop to 62.0. The unexpected advance lifted the index to its highest level since March of 2011.

Sector News

Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, although considerable strength was visible among natural gas stocks. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index advanced by 1.5 percent.

The strength in the sector came amid an increase by the price of natural gas, with natural gas for February delivery climbing $0.182 to $2.914 per million BTUs.

Steel stocks also showed a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 1.2 percent. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in over two years.

On the other hand, railroad and computer hardware stocks saw some weakness on the day, although selling pressure was subdued.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Thursday. China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.9 percent. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the uptrend and fell by 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks mostly moved to the downside on the day. The German DAX Index slid by 0.7 percent and the French CAC 40 Index dropped by 0.6 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just above the unchanged line.

In the bond market, treasuries gave back some ground after moving notably higher over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged up by 1.8 basis points to 2.432 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Friday is likely to remain subdued as some traders look to get a head start on the long weekend. A lack of major U.S. economic data may also contribute to light trading.