U.S. Stocks Mixed at Midday
24 February 2017 - 4:50AM
Dow Jones News
By Riva Gold and Akane Otani
The S&P 500 retreated Thursday, as a decline in shares of
industrial companies offset gains in the utilities sector.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17 points, or 0.1%, to
20792, extending a recent streak of gains. The S&P 500 lost
0.1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7%, weighed by a
selloff in shares of biotechnology companies.
Stocks have climbed since Election Day, as corporate earnings
have improved, data has shown growth in the U.S. economy and
investors have bet on the new U.S. administration implementing tax
cuts and fiscal stimulus. The Dow industrials climbed to nine
consecutive record closes through Wednesday.
"The outlook for earnings got a bit better, regardless of the
election. Then you throw on top of that perhaps a more
business-friendly environment and confidence has improved," said
Matthew Peron, head of global equities at Northern Trust Asset
Management.
Some investors remain cautious, however, noting stocks are
getting expensive. Companies in the S&P 500 traded at about 22
times their past 12 months of earnings as of Wednesday, above their
10-year average of 15.8, according to FactSet.
"It feels to me like the market is pricing in a lot more
optimism than it should be," said David Lafferty, chief strategist
at Natixis Global Asset Management.
Gains in oil prices helped lift shares of energy companies in
the S&P 500 on Thursday. The S&P 500 energy sector rose
0.2%, with Transocean and National Oilwell Varco posting some of
the biggest gains.
U.S. crude oil jumped 1.3% to $54.29 a barrel.
Shares of industrial companies fell 1.1% in the S&P 500,
weighing on the index. Emerson Electric lost 2.1% and United
Continental Holdings fell 2%.
A decline in biotechnology shares dragged the Nasdaq Composite
lower. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index fell 0.8%, on course for its
third consecutive session of declines.
Government bonds and their stock-market proxies gained.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note edged lower to
2.388%, according to Tradeweb, from 2.416% Wednesday. Yields fall
as bond prices rise.
Shares of utilities companies in the S&P 500, often
considered bondlike stocks because of their dividends, rose
0.9%.
The dollar pulled back for a second session. The WSJ Dollar
Index, which measures the dollar against a basket of 16 currencies,
was recently down 0.5%.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.1%.
Japan's Nikkei ended flat and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed
0.4%, weighed by a decline in bank shares.
--Ese Erheriene contributed to this article.
Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com and Akane Otani at
akane.otani@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 23, 2017 12:35 ET (17:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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