Wall Street eyed a third day of losses on Thursday after jobless claims data failed to meet heightened market expectations as stocks come off their best first quarter in 14 years.
New U.S. jobless claims fell last week, according to a government report, but still missed forecasts, while the prior week's number was revised up. After a period of improvement, some analysts say the jobs numbers showed signs of stalling, a worry for investors.
"The market was feeling pretty fearless and bulletproof, and when we're feeling that way, a disappointing data point has a greater effect," said John Kosar, director of research with Asbury research in Chicago.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 51.04 points, or 0.39 percent, at 13,075.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was off 7.38 points, or 0.53 percent, at 1,398.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> took off 9.85 points, or 0.32 percent, at 3,095.11.
Concerns about a slowdown in Asia have also been on the rise. The Shanghai Composite index <.SSEC> is down more than 8 percent since the middle of March. It lost 1.4 percent on Thursday.
"The economic numbers have been softening a little bit here in the U.S., but I also think people are looking to Asia and the weakness there, which is getting pretty profound," said Rick Fier, director of trading at Conifer Securities in New York.
The S&P 500 is up 11.8 percent this quarter, its best start to the year since 1998 and its best quarter since the third period of 2009.
Some analysts are looking for a pullback early in the second quarter after the strong early run and as investors seek confirmation the economy is not about to slow.
"What we are really keying on now is what happens in the first week in April," said Fier. "Everybody remembers last year at this time and 'sell in May and go away' was a big trade that worked," he said, referring to the old stock market adage.
Best Buy Co Inc reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter sales, and said it will close 50 big-box stores and cut 400 jobs. The stock fell 6 percent to $25.04.
Roche Holding AG hiked its offer for U.S. gene sequencing company Illumina Inc as it sought to win over shareholders before Illuminant's annual meeting next month. Illumina rose 4.2 percent to $52.
Red Hat Inc's profit beat expectations for the fifth straight quarter as subscription revenue rose. The business software maker also said it will buy back $300 million worth of its shares. The shares soared 10 percent to $56.51.
Fossil Inc will replace Medco Health Solutions Inc in the S&P 500 as Express Scripts Inc acquires Medco in a deal expected to be completed soon. The date of the index change has yet to be announced.
Source:IBTimes
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