By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks moved lower in early trade
Thursday, as investors weighed disappointing earnings from Google
and IBM against estimate-beating results from Goldman Sachs and
Morgan Stanley.
Ahead of the opening bell, better-than-expected weekly jobless
claims figures briefly boosted markets. Investors await
manufacturing data from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve due at 10
a.m. Eastern.
Investors will focus on earnings, as 25 companies on the S&P
500 are scheduled to report profits on Thursday, according to
FactSet.
The S&P 500 (SPX) was 5 points, or 0.3%, lower at 1,857.57,
after three days of gains sent it into positive territory for the
year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) shed 51 points, or 0.1%,
to 16,398.58.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) fell 20 points, or 0.5%, to
4,066.30.
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action.
The number of people who applied for unemployment-insurance
benefits ticked up by 2,000 to 304,000 in the week that ended April
12, a slight increase from the lowest level since 2007, signaling
that employers are maintaining a slow pace of layoffs, according to
government data released Thursday.
At 10 a.m. Eastern Time, the Federal Reserve Bank of
Philadelphia will publish its monthly reading on regional
manufacturers, with the gauge expected to show a slight improvement
to 10 in April, from 9 in March.
Thursday has one of the busiest earnings schedules in the
results season, and there also were notable reports late
Wednesday.
Shares of IBM Corp. (IBM) dropped 4% after the tech bellwether
late Wednesday reported an eighth-straight quarter of revenue
declines and missed analyst expectations.
Google Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL) dropped 4% after a disappointing
earnings report published late Wednesday.
American Express Co.(AXP) fell 2% after it reported quarterly
revenue that missed expectations late Wednesday.
Banking giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) gained 1.3% after it
reported first-quarter earnings above expectations.
Peer firm Morgan Stanley (MS), rose 3.7% after its profit topped
estimates.
General Electric Co. (GE) said it made an adjusted 33 cents a
share in the first quarter, slightly beating FactSet estimates of
32 cents a share. Shares gained 1.9%.
UnitedHealth Group Inc.(UNH) slid 5.6% after its earnings beat
expectations, but revenue missed.
In other earnings news on Thursday, DuPont Co. (DD) reported
adjusted first-quarter earnings of $1.58 a share, up from $1.56 in
the year-ago period. Shares slipped 1%.
PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) posted quarterly earnings and revenue that
beat expectations. Shares were up 0.4%.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) shares rose 2.5% as its
first-quarter profit and revenue surged, largely attributed to a
13.4% jump in same-store sales.
Shares of Sabre (SABR), the travel-tech firm which owns the
Travelocity website, and Weibo (WB), China's microblog equivalent
of Twitter, are expected to attract attention when they debut on
the market Thursday. Sabre said late Wednesday its initial public
offering had priced at $16 a share, while Weibo priced at $17, the
low end of its range, while selling fewer shares than expected.
In other financial markets, European stocks traded mostly lower
amid escalating tensions in Ukraine after three pro-Russia
activists were killed and 13 wounded in fighting. Asia markets
closed mostly higher. Oil prices inched higher, while metals were
little changed.
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