Stocks Close Slightly Higher But Well Off Best Levels - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks fluctuated throughout much of the trading session on Thursday after failing to sustain an early upward move. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing modestly higher.

While the Dow closed well off its intraday high, the blue chip index still rose 40.59 points or 0.2 percent to a new record closing high of 17,652.79. The Nasdaq edged up 5.01 points or 0.1 percent to 4,680.14, and the S&P 500 inched up 1.08 points or 0.1 percent to 2,039.33.

The early strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to the latest corporate news, including quarterly results from retail giant Wal-Mart (WMT).

Before the start of trading, Wal-Mart reported better than expected third quarter earnings on revenues and comparable store sales that also came in above estimates.

Media giant Viacom (VIA) and networking giant Cisco Systems (CSCO) also moved to the upside after reporting quarterly earnings that beat analyst estimates.

News on the merger-and-acquisition front also generated some positive sentiment, with DreamWorks Animation (DWA) moving sharply higher on news that the movie studio is in talks to be acquired by toymaker Hasbro (HAS).

Buying interest waned not long after the open, however, with concerns about the markets being overbought helping to limit the upside.

The subsequent pullback by the markets reflected substantial weakness among energy stocks, which moved lower along with the price of crude oil.

Crude for December delivery plunged $2.97 to a four-year low of $74.21 a barrel amid news of an increase in stockpiles at a key U.S. delivery point.

While energy stocks managed to regain some ground, the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index still fell by 1.9 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

Gold stocks also came under pressure on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 1.9 percent. The weakness in the sector came despite a modest increase by the price of gold.

On the other hand, software stocks showed a notable move to the upside, resulting in a 1 percent gain by the Dow Jones Software Index. The gain lifted the index to its best closing level since 2000.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region once again ended trading mixed on Thursday. While Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.1 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index dropped by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index crept up by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both rose by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction for much of the session before closing modestly higher. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.2 basis points to 2.347 percent.

Looking Ahead

Economic data is likely to take center stage on Friday, with traders likely to keep a close eye on the Commerce Department's report on retail sales.

The retail sales report may overshadow other reports on import and export prices, consumer sentiment, and business inventories.

On the earnings front, Applied Materials (AMAT) and Nordstrom (JWN) are among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.