Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 16, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
The S&P 500 gyrated on Thursday as Wall Street attempted to recover its footing amid a losing streak for the benchmark index. Investors also continued parsing the latest corporate earnings reports.
The broad index added 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded near flat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 211 points, or 0.6%, boosted by a rally of more than 4% in UnitedHealth.
The major averages are tracking for a losing week, the latest leg down amid the recent market pullback. The Dow has inched down 0.1% since the start of the week, while the S&P 500 has slid almost 2%.
The Nasdaq has tumbled more than 3% as technology shares struggled. That puts the index on pace for its fourth straight down week, which would mark the longest negative streak since December 2022.
Credit bureau Equifax declined more than 9% in Thursday’s session on disappointing second-quarter guidance. Homebuilder D.R. Horton advanced more than 4% after quarter financials topped expectations.
More than 12% of S&P 500-listed companies have now reported earnings in what’s shaping up to be a positive season. Of those that have already posted results, 73% have surpassed Wall Street expectations for their individual performances, according to FactSet.
With Thursday’s action, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq flirted with their fifth straight down session. That would mark the longest losing streaks for each since October and January, respectively.
The moves come during what has thus far been a difficult second quarter on Wall Street as investors monitor the path of inflation and monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.
All three major indexes are lower so far in April, in stark contrast to the stronger-than-expected market performance seen in the first quarter. The Dow, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have also closed below their respective 50-day moving averages.
“The stock market has been declining in recent weeks because rate cut expectations have dropped significantly,” said Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer of Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management. “Investors are not surprisingly taking some profits after the strong market performance seen during the first quarter.”
