By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks ended Tuesday's choppy
session lower, as investors appeared to take a pause in a day light
on economic data releases. Energy and materials stocks led
broad-based losses on the benchmark S&P 500.
Urban Outfitters slumped after disappointing earnings, while
Macy's and J.C. Penney rallied after an upgrade from analysts.
The S&P 500 (SPX) ended the day 9.55 points, or 0.5%, lower
at 1,867.62, retreating from a record closing level reached on
Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) closed 67.43 points, or
0.4%, lower at 16,351.25.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) fell for the fourth consecutive day,
ending down 27.26 points, or 0.6%, at 4,307.19.
Read the recap of our live stock market coverage.
"Markets are confused right now, after getting conflicting set
of data. On the one hand, job openings indicated demand for workers
and improvement in labor markets, on the other, wholesale
inventories rose, as businesses overshot and could not sell goods
sooner," said Kim Caughey Forrest, portfolio manager and senior
equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital.
With little economic news to consider this week, investors look
ahead to the FOMC meeting next week and pay close attention to
events in Ukraine. Read also: Stock investors look past jobs to
Yellen, Ukraine
Tuesday's economic data were deemed mostly secondary and
provided little direction to stocks in early trade.
Job openings rose in January in line with expectations. There
were 3.97 million openings compared with 3.91 million in December.
The so-called Jolts survey is one of the pieces of labor market
data that Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen has said she pays
attention to.
U.S. wholesale inventories rose in January while wholesale sales
fell, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
Small-business sentiment, released before the market open,
slumped in February. According to the National Federation of
Independent Business, its small-business index dropped by more than
expected, on concerns over sales, the economy and employment
driving the downturn.
Among individual stocks, retailers were in the spotlight. Shares
of American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) tumbled 7.8% after
fourth-quarter profit and outlook disappointed.
Shares of Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) fell 4.3% after the
company reported results on Monday that revealed a drop in
fourth-quarter same-store sales late Monday.
Shares of Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS) rose 4.3% after the
company posted results that largely met forecasts.
Shares of Macy's (M) and J.C. Penney rose after upgrades from
analysts.
J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) shares rose sharply initially, but gained
petered out and closed 2.9% higher after the retailer was upgraded
to buy from neutral by Citigroup. Analyst Oliver Chen expects that
the company's "going back to basics" strategy will spur positive
comparable sales in line with the retailer's outlook.
Macy's rose 1.4% after analysts at Wells Fargo raised the stock
to outperform from market-perform.
Shares of La Jolla Pharma Co. (LJPCD) soared 65%, tracking a
rally late Monday after the microcap biotech said its study for a
chronic kidney disease treatment showed a statistically significant
improvement.
Fuel Tech Inc. (FTEK) shares sank 17% after the
air-pollution-control technology company's results fell short of
Wall Street expectations late Monday.
Shares in Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc and Men's Wearhouse, Inc
rallied after the two companies agreed a merger. Jos. A. Bank
gained 3.9%, Men's Wearhouse added 4.7%.
In other markets, Asia stocks managed flat-to-positive closes
after Monday's mauling, with the China Shanghai Composite Index
closing up 0.1%. European stocks closed slightly higher.
Commodity prices were volatile today. Oil prices, which perked
up earlier, settled at the lowest level in a month, dropping below
$100 a barrel. Gold prices, settled slightly higher. Benchmark
Treasury yields also ticked lower, after being higher in the
morning.
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