By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
S&P 500 down 3.9% from its record close reached on July
24
S&P 500 down 3.9% from its record close reached on July
24
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market ended Thursday's
session with modest losses, as investors moved out of riskier
assets and into gold and U.S. Treasurys.
The drop in stocks, while relatively modest, was global, with
Asian and European markets also losing ground.
Key benchmarks hit the day's lows late in the session. The
S&P 500 (SPX) fell 10.67 points, or 0.6%, to 1,909.57. The
benchmark index is now 3.9% off its July 24 record closed, after
falling in 4 of the past 6 trading days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 75.07 points, or
0.5%, to 16,368.27, its lowest close since April 25. The blue-chip
index is 4.5% off its July 16 record close after falling in 9 of
the past 12 trading days.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) fell 20.08 points, or 0.5%, at
4,334.97.
Read the recap of MarketWatch's live blog of today's
stock-market action.
In economic news, the number of people who applied for
unemployment benefits fell below 300,000 for the second time in
three weeks, solidifying a picture of an improving U.S. labor
market. Better-than-expected data briefly pushed stocks higher, but
gains soon dissipated.
Instead, investors pushed up prices of Treasurys and gold. The
yield on a 10-year Treasury note, which falls when prices rise,
fell to the lowest level in more than a year, at 2.42%, while gold
settled above $1,300 for the second session in a row.
The S&P 500 is now down 3.9% from its peak, hit by fears
that the stronger economy could push the Federal Reserve to raise
interest rates sooner than expected as well as escalating tensions
surrounding Ukraine. On Thursday, Russia banned food imports from
the U.S., members of the European Union and other countries in
retaliation over sanctions.
"This market got complacent and ahead of itself a few weeks ago,
was overbought on technical levels. So the selloff last week was
not surprising," said Paul Zemsky, chief investment officer of
multi-asset strategies at Voya Investment Management. "There is
nothing in our indicators that signals a larger 10%-15% correction.
However, we think the S&P 500 will fall to 1,900 before
continuing to march higher."
Company news
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) shares rallied 4.5% after Chief Executive
Reed Hastings. in a Facebook post, said Netflix's subscriber
revenue totaled $1.146 billion last quarter, edging out HBO's
$1.141 billion.
21st Century Fox (NWSA) climbed 4.6% following
better-than-expected earnings results.
Shares of iDreamSky Technology Ltd. (DSKY) jumped 6.3% on its
first day of trading on the Nasdaq. The company describes itself as
the biggest independent mobile-game publishing platform in China.
Read more about what to know about the iDreamSky IPO.
Read more about the day's big stock moves here.
Other markets
European stocks fell amid concerns about the impact of Russian
sanctions on its economy. Coca-Cola HBC AG slid 5.3% on a warning
tied in part to Russia. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.7% to
326.96. Meanwhile, European Central President Mario Draghi said at
his monthly press conference that monetary policies in the U.S. and
the euro zone are on a "diverging path" and will remain that way
for a long time.
Also read: Draghi unperturbable, but clock ticks toward QE
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.3% and Hong
Kong's Hang Seng Index fell to its lowest settlement in nearly two
weeks as casino shares dropped.
In other markets, gold prices (GCU4) inched up after a big jump
on Wednesday, while oil (CLU4) gained and the dollar (DXY) inched
higher.
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
This market expert sees stocks up another 70%
These eight health-care stocks could rise up to 75%
Cash-rich spending spree is sign of a growing tech bubble
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires