By Anora Mahmudova and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks pared opening losses on
Thursday, as investors focused on a mixed bag of company earnings
and economic data.
Microsoft shares surged on its plans to cut up to 18,000 jobs.
But SanDisk, Mattel and AutoNation tumbled following disappointing
earnings.
The S&P 500 (SPX) reversed early losses and was a point
higher at 1,981.11. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was flat
at 17,135.61 after setting an intraday record earlier in the
session.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) rose a point to 4,413.85.
"It appears that after strong gains in June, investors are using
any excuse to take some money off the table. We had lackluster
jobless claims and poor housing data and news out of Ukraine and
Russia. But 'buy the dip' mentality is still prevalent in this
market," said Joe Bell, senior equity analyst at Schaeffer's
Investment Research.
Investors woke up to renewed geopolitical risks after news
reports that a Ukrainian fighter jet was shot down by missiles from
a Russian plane. On Wednesday, the U.S. unveiled a new round of
sanctions against Russia, targeting companies such as oil giant
Rosneft and Gazprombank ONO. The European Union said it will detail
new sanctions against Russia by the end of this month. European
stocks fell sharply on Thursday. Read: Russian stocks pounded after
U.S. imposes new sanctions.
In the U.S., the number of people who applied for jobless
benefits fell to the lowest level in nine weeks. But construction
on new U.S. homes was far weaker than expected, tumbling to the
slowest pace in nine months.
A July reading on activity among regional manufacturers is
slated for release at 10 a.m. Eastern by the Federal Reserve Bank
of Philadelphia. Economists expect to see the result weaken to 16.5
from 17.8 in June, which was the highest level since September.
Microsoft plans major lay-offs, SanDisk results disappoint
In corporate news, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) shares rallied 3%
after the tech company said it would cut 18,000 jobs over the next
year in a bid to simplify operations and integrate its Nokia
Devices and Services business. It also said it would take a
restructuring charge between $1.1 billion and $1.6 billion over the
next year.
Blackstone Group L.P. (BX) reported stronger-than-expected
second-quarter earnings on the back of gains from asset sales in
its private-equity business. The shares rose 2.4%.
Mattel (MAT) shares fell 5.4% as quarterly earnings were dragged
lower by muted sales of Barbie dolls.
SanDisk (SNDK) shares sank 10% after the flash-memory maker's
third-quarter revenue forecast was lighter than anticipated. Read
more about the day's notable movers here.
After trading closes Thursday, Google (GOOG) is expected to post
earnings of $6.25 a share on revenue of $12.3 billion. Read NEED TO
KNOW: Janet Yellen might disagree, but Amazon tapped as screaming
buy.
Investors will monitor comments from St. Louis Fed President
James Bullard, who is slated to speak in Kentucky about monetary
policy at 1:35 p.m. Eastern Time. Bullard said in a Bloomberg
interview last week that a continued decline in U.S. unemployment
could push inflation above the Fed's 2% target by the end of 2015.
Bullard isn't a voting member of the Fed's policy-making
committee.
In the commodities market, August crude-oil futures (CLQ4) rose
$1.45 to $102.70 a barrel, and gold futures (GCQ4) picked up $5.5
to $1,305 an ounce.
Asian stocks overnight closed mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Average
down 0.1%.
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
Sites erased in Google right-to-be-forgotten case can be found
here
10 steps to take if you hope to retire soon
BlackRock results show a shift away from stocks? Not exactly
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires