By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks edged higher on Thursday
with the modest gains pushing the S&P 500 into record territory
for the second straight day this week.
Investors digested a deluge of earnings reports as well as mixed
economic data.
Ahead of the opening bell, weekly jobless claims came in far
better than expected, as the number of people claiming benefits
fell to the lowest level since February 2006, but June's pace of
new-home sales hit a three-month low while the May number was
revised down significantly.
The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 3.5 points, or 0.2%, to 1,990.54,
after setting a fresh intraday record. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average (DJI) added 19 points, or 0.1%, to 17,105.61. The Nasdaq
Composite (RIXF) gained 8 points, or 0.2%, to 4,481.64.
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action.
Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, says
markets had a pretty good run so far with the main benchmarks
reaching all-time or multi-year records, which make them vulnerable
for corrections.
"Markets are already at lofty levels and we need more good news
to keep going higher. Today's economic and corporate news have been
mixed. Earnings so far have supported the market, but there is
cautious optimism among investors as we are entering historically
weak months," Cieszynski said.
In earnings news, shares of Facebook(FB) jumped 5.6% action
after profit and sales beat expectations.
Ford(F) shares rose 1.5% after the car maker beat earnings
expectations.
General Motors Co. (GM.XX) profit sank 80% as the auto maker was
hit by recalls. Adjusted earnings matched analyst expectations.
Shares were 2.8% lower in premarket.
Among the decliners, Shares of TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) sank 11%
and Angie's List Inc. (ANGI) tumbled 22% after those companies
separately reported late Wednesday.
Among the early reporters Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) shares dropped
3.3% after the maker of manufacturing equipment said sales fell
short of expectations in the second quarter, but the company raised
its earnings outlook again.
For more on Thursday's notable movers, read our Mover &
Shakers column.
In economic news, sales of new single-family homes fell by more
than expected in June to the slowest pace in three months, with
drops across the country, according to government data released
Thursday.
The number of unemployed workers applying for jobless benefits
tumbled in the most recent weekly data to the lowest level in more
than eight years, signaling that employers are letting go of very
few workers.
Outside of a loss for the Nikkei 225 index , Asian stocks rose
across the board Thursday with a 1.2% gain for the China Shanghai
Composite , after a preliminary reading of Chinese manufacturing
data from HSBC hit an 18-month high. European stocks gained across
the board amid a big earnings day there.
Crude-oil (CLU4) edged lower along with gold prices (GCQ4),
while the dollar (DXY) steadied.
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