Major Averages Close Mixed For Third Straight Day - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After closing mixed in each of the two previous sessions, stocks turned in another relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday. The major averages eventually closed mixed for the third straight day.

The Dow edged down 15.82 points or 0.1 percent to 18,456.35, while the Nasdaq rose 15.17 points or 0.3 percent to 5,154.98 and the S&P 500 crept up 3.48 points or 0.2 percent to 2,170.06.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders reacted to the release of a slew of quarterly results from big-name companies.

Shares of Ford (F) tumbled by 8.2 percent after the auto giant reported weaker than expected second quarter earnings.

Grocery chain Whole Foods (WFM) also showed a notable decline after reporting third quarter revenues that came in below analyst estimates.

On the other hand, shares of Facebook (FB) moved to the upside after the social media giant reported better than expected second quarter results.

Groupon (GRPN) and GoPro (GPRO) also posted strong gains on the day after reporting their quarterly results.

Traders were also looking ahead to the Bank of Japan's monetary policy announcement scheduled for Friday.

The BoJ is expected to announce further stimulus measures after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government is set to unveil a stimulus package of more than 28 trillion yen to boost the sluggish economy.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing that initial jobless claims increased by slightly more than expected in the week ended July 23rd.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 266,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level of 252,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 264,000.

Sector News

Computer hardware stocks saw considerable strength on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 2.1 percent. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in over eight months.

Logitech (LOGI) led the hardware sector higher, jumping by 12.7 percent after reporting better than expected first quarter earnings.

Significant strength also emerged among railroad stocks, as reflected by the 1 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Railroads Index. Union Pacific (UNP) posted a strong gain on the day.

Internet, trucking, and natural gas stocks also moved notably higher over the course of the trading session.

Meanwhile, substantial weakness remained visible among networking stocks, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index slumping by 2.1 percent. The index pulled back further off the seven-month closing high that it set on Tuesday.

Infinera (INFN) posted a steep loss after the company reported better than expected second quarter earnings but said demand is softening.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.1 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index rose by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both fell by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction throughout the session before closing roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 1.511 percent.

Looking Ahead

While the BoJ announcement is likely to be in focus on Friday, traders will also be presented with reports on U.S. second quarter GDP, consumer sentiment, and Chicago-area business activity.

On the earnings front, Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), CBS (CBS), Expedia (EXPE), and Western Digital (WDC) are among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), Chevron (CVX), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Merck (MRK), Tyco (TYC), and UPS (UPS) are also scheduled to release their results before the start of trading on Friday.