Dow finishes with mixed close
NEW YORK (AP) – The stock market wavered for a second day Thursday as investors weighed disappointing news from the retail industry against more positive signals on the U.S. economy.
Investors were looking ahead to today’s jobs report, as well as the start of corporate earnings season.
Retailers were among the hardest hit stocks Thursday.
The reports of tepid sales disappointed investors, who have been seeing signs for several weeks that the U.S. economy was improving and that shoppers were returning to the malls.
Even the bright spots in the retail industry had caveats. Department store giant Macy’s jumped $3.96, or 8 percent, to $55.80 after the company forecast a 2014 profit that was above Wall Street’s forecasts. At the same time, Macy’s said it would eliminate 2,500 jobs as part of a reorganization that aims to save $100 million a year.
At the close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.98 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,444.76. The S&P 500 added 0.64 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,838.13 and the Nasdaq composite lost 9.42 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,156.19.
In company news, Ford rose 30 cents, or 2 percent, to $15.84 after announcing an increase in its quarterly dividend to 12.5 cents per share from 10 cents per share. The news came a day after the stock gained 1 percent on word that Ford’s widely respected CEO, Alan Mulally, would not leave to run Microsoft.