(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished down on Thursday as weaker-than-expected housing data spooked investors. Stocks also came under pressure due to a steep drop in oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 41.11 points or 0.42% to finish at 9,707.44. The S&P 500 declined 10.09 points or 0.95% to end at 1,050.78. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 23.81 points or 1.12% to 2,107.61.
The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that existing home sales fell 2.7% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million, the first decline in five months. Economists expected existing home sales to rise to 5.40 million annual rate from 5.24 million in July.
A release by the Department of Labor on Thursday showed number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits fell 21,000 to 530,00 in the week ending September 19. Economists expected jobless claims to rise to 545,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims, a less volatile gauge, decreased 11,000 to 553,000. Continuing claims for the week ending September 12 dropped 123,000 to 6.14 million.
Shares of Alcoa (NYSE:
AA), the largest US aluminum maker, plunged 63 cents or 4.46% to $13.51.
Shares of equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:
CAT) slid $1.29 or 2.43% to $51.85.
Among financials, Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:
BAC) lost 52 cents or 2.79% to close at $16.98. JP Morgan (NYSE:
JPM) slipped 69 cents or 1.53% to $44.37.
Shares of DuPont Co. (NYSE:
DD) slumped 86 cents or 2.60% to $32.27.
Diversified US firm, General Electric (NYSE:
GE) tumbled 42 cents or 2.47% to $16.58.
Shares of energy giant Chevron Corp. (NYSE:
CVX) plummeted 66 cents or 0.92% to $70.71.
Early on Thursday, McCormick & Company Inc. (NYSE:
MKC) announced that third-quarter net income climbed to $75 million, or 57 cents a share, from $69 million, or 52 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Quarterly revenue rose to $792 million from $782 million. Shares of the company fell 85 cents or 2.45% to $33.90.
Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE:
RAD) reported that its fiscal second-quarter loss narrowed to $116 million, or 14 cents a share, from $222 million, or 27 cents a share, int the prior-year quarter. Revenue in the quarter ended Aug. 29 dropped to $6.32 billion from $6.5 billion. Shares of Rite Aid Corp. plunged 24 cents or 12.31% to $1.71.
Late on Wednesday, Red Hat Inc. (NYSE:
RHT) said second-quarter net income jumped to $28.9 million, or 15 cents a share, from $21.1 million, or 10 cents a share in the same quarter a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the provider of open-source software used by businesses earned 16 cents per share. Revenue for the period ended in August increased 12% to $183.6 million. Red Hat jumped $3.07 or 12.34% to $27.95.
European stocks settled lower. The UK FTSE dropped 60.10 points or 1.17% to 5,079.27. The German DAX and French CAC decreased 1.17% and 1.70% respectively.
Asian stocks finished mixed. The Nikkei 225 rose 173.68 points or 1.67% to 10,544.22. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong fell 544.79 points or 2.52% to 21050.73.
NYMEX crude oil for November delivery declined $3.06 or 4.4% to settle at $65.91 a barrel.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
