Stocks end mixed as optimism ebbs
Stocks wobbled Thursday as investors changed course and tempered their expectations for faster economic growth. Industrial firms, which surged over the last few months, finished lower as Wall Street focused on gold, bonds and companies that pay big dividends.
Construction equipment, transportation and metals companies skidded. Small-company stocks also slumped. Technology firms fell for the first time this month. Still, the Dow Jones industrial average, which tracks 30 large U.S. stocks, rose for the 10th day in a row.
Industrial companies have made big gains since November as investors expect the Trump administration and Republican Congress to ramp up spending on infrastructure. That optimism faded Thursday.
Industrial companies declined for the second day in a row, taking some of their biggest losses since the election. Construction equipment maker Caterpillar fell 2.7% to $95.55, its biggest loss since September. United Rentals slid 5.6% to $120.90.
Copper fell 3.3% to $2.64 a pound, its biggest one-day decline in more than a year. Companies that make basic materials also fell, and U.S. Steel sank 7.9% to $37.31.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.37% from 2.42%. That helped companies that pay big dividends, such as utilities and real estate investment trusts.
In another sign that investors were seeking some refuge, gold jumped $18.10, or 1.5%, to $1,251.40 an ounce and silver rose 17 cents to $18.12 an ounce.
L Brands, the owner of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, tumbled 15.8% to $48.94 after it said February sales have been weak, especially at Victoria’s Secret.
Food conglomerate Hormel skidded 5.4% to $35.29 after it said low turkey prices hurt its profit and sales in the first quarter, and it cut its annual profit estimate.
HP Inc. climbed 8.6% to $17.60 after the company blew past analyst estimates in the fourth quarter thanks to a 10% jump in revenue from personal computers.
Square leaped 14% to $17.15 after the mobile payments processor reported a larger-than-expected profit and gave strong estimates for 2017.
Tesla slid 6.4% to $255.99 after reporting a loss for the last three months of the year. It had forecast a profit.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil futures rebounded, rising 86 cents, or 1.6%, to $54.45 a barrel. Brent crude rose 61 cents to $56.58 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.53 a gallon. Heating oil rose 3 cents to $1.66 a gallon. Natural gas rose 3 cents to $2.62 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The dollar fell to 112.75 yen from 113.12 yen. The euro rose to $1.0574 from $1.0568.