Up, down, back again: Stocks dip after taking circuitous ride
NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes ticked lower on Thursday, but only after a circuitous ride that saw them flip multiple times between small gains and losses. It’s the latest meandering course for a market that has been pushed in many directions the past few weeks.
Food companies struggled after the makers of Spam and Folgers coffee reported weaker-thanexpected results, and grocers fell after Amazon said it plans to cut prices for avocados, eggs and other products when it takes control of Whole Foods next week. Retailers, meanwhile, were big winners after a wide variety said they earned fatter profits last quarter than Wall Street forecast.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 5.07 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,438.97. Through the day, it flipped between gains of up to 0.3 percent and losses of up to 0.3 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 28.69 points, or 0.1 percent, to 21,783.40, the Nasdaq composite fell 7.08 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,271.33 and the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks rose 4.14 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,373.88.
The market has drifted up and down since the S&P 500 set a record high earlier this month. Helping stocks has been strong growth in profits, and most S&P 500 companies have reported higher earnings for the spring quarter than analysts forecast, along with healthier revenue.
Hurting stocks have been
worries about politics both in Washington and abroad. Doubts are rising about how much help the Republicanled White House and Congress can provide for businesses. Several crucial deadlines are coming up that could damage the economy, including a vote to avoid a default on the national debt, though most investors expect calamity to be averted.
This week also has featured lighter trading than usual, with few market-moving events on the calendar. That may be exacerbating moves for the market. For all the noise, though, the S&P 500 is still within 1.7 percent of its record.
One event that could capture the market’s attention is a symposium of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi are both expected to speak at the meeting on Friday. Few analysts expect to hear major surprises.
“I can’t imagine anything significant outside of what we already know, which is that over time global rates will move up,” said Tom Stringfellow, chief investment officer of Frost Investment Advisors. “Maybe we’ll get some commentary on how they’ll manage it to keep debt markets calm.”
With rates on the way up, Mr. Stringfellow said he expects the market to become increasingly split between winners and losers. That would be a change from prior years, when markets often rose and fell in unison.
On Thursday, the New York Stock Exchange was nearly evenly split between stocks that rose and fell.
On the losing side was J.M. Smucker, which had the biggest loss in the S&P 500 after reporting weaker profit for the latest quarter than Wall Street expected. It cited weaker-than-expected sales for Folgers coffee, and it also lowered the range for its forecast of full-year profit. The stock dropped $11.34, or 9.5 percent, to $107.51.
Hormel Foods fell after it cut its forecast for full-year earnings because of higher costs for pork bellies and other ingredients. Its stock lost $1.83, or 5.4 percent, to $32.09.
On the winning side were retailers, led by Signet Jewelers, which jumped $8.65, or 16.7 percent, to $60.54. Strong sales of bracelets, rings and necklaces helped it report bigger revenue and profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Signet also said it was acquiring R2Net, an online jewelry retailer, for $328 million in cash.
Dollar Tree, whose stores sell $1 towels and $1 Champagne flutes, surged after it reported stronger earnings than Wall Street forecast.