-NYSE down 16.63 (-0.2%) to 8,276.29
-DJIA down 37.28 (-0.3%) to 12,069
-S&P 500 down 1.30 (-0.1%) to 1,306
-Nasdaq up 14.91 (+0.6%) to 2,738
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
Hang Seng down 1.34%
Nikkei down 1.19%
FTSE down 0.06%
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) PCLN continues evening gain after earnings beat.
(+) ROYL continues evening gain that followed new drilling announcement.
(+) TIV reaches favorable litigation settlement.
(+) DPTR among morning actives.
(+) KSS meets on Q4, sets mixed guidance.
(+) TGT lower then improves after disappointing earnings.
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) GM gains after earnings report.
(-) SLXP says FDA may deem Xifaxan sNDA not ready for approval.
(-) ETFC selling shares.
(-) IDCC misses with Q4 earnings.
(-) CLMT selling shares.
MARKET DIRECTION
Stock averages end narrowly mixed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq
outperforming the other averages. In a late reversal, crude oil closes
lower, having crossed as high as $103 a barrel earlier.
Stocks chopped in mixed trading for much of the session as mixed
corporate earnings and continuing Middle East turmoil off-set new
economic data showing a drop in weekly and four-week average jobless
claims. Durable goods orders rose in line with expectations.
In a late reversal, crude oil futures settled lower. Oil fell back
from the 28-month high hit this week as some investors grew concerned
the market had run up too far, too fast.
News that Algeria had lifted decades-old political restrictions,
coupled with earlier news that Saudi Arabia had announced a $36-billion
aid package, soothed some fears of unrest contagion in the Middle East
and North Africa, MarketWatch reported. Oil for April delivery fell 82
cents, or 0.8%, to finish at $97.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. It had traded past $103 a barrel earlier.
On the economic front, the Commerce Department reported that orders
for U.S.-made durable goods rose 2.7% in January on stronger demand for
civilian aircraft. The consensus was for a 2.5% gain, MarketWatch
estimated, citing a poll of economists.
Meanwhile, new applications for U.S. unemployment benefits declined
last week by 22,000 to 391,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected initial claims in the
week ended Feb. 19 to drop to a seasonally adjusted 405,000 from a
revised 413,000 the week before. In addition, the four-week moving
average, considered less volatile than weekly claims, fell to more than
a two-year low, down 16,500 at 402,000.