US open: Stocks flat amid dovish Fedspeak
Wall Street is trading on a mixed note as traders take some money off the table following the latest earnings updates out of Citigroup and JP Morgan and somewhat dovish remarks by a trio of top Fed officials.
As of 1815 BST, the Dow Industrials was dipping 0.01% or 1.83 points to 22,870.65, alongside a 0.3% or 0.85 point drop for the S&P 500 to 2,554.45.
From a sector standpoint, the worst performing areas of the market were: Fixed Line Telecommunications (-2.81%), Telecommunications (-2.66%) and Broadcasting (-1.82%).
The KBW index of banks' shares was also weaker, giving back 0.62% to 99.80 points.
Weighing on lenders perhaps, speaking at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, US Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard reportedly said that US inflationary headwinds now appeared to be "a little more" structural than cyclical.
She also noted that a persistently low neutral interest rate had "big implications".
On the other hand, another Fed governor, Jerome Powell, indicated that policy tightening should remain gradual so long as the economy evolved as anticipated.
Acting as a backdrop, overnight the minutes of the US central bank's last policy meeting had indicated that "many participants" had shown concern that low inflation readings might not only reflect transitory factors. Yet in parallel, some market observers are wary of lofty valuations even for benchmarks such as the S&P 500.
To take note of as well, according to coindesk the price of Bitcoins hit a new all-time high on Thursday of $5,281.59.
In economic news, initial jobless claims in the US fell by 15,000 over the week ending on 7 October to reach 243,000 (consensus: 250,000), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Wholesale prices advanced at a 0.4% month-on-month and 2.6% yaer-on-year clip last month, as forecast by economists.
On the corporate front, shares of Citi were losing ground despite reporting third quarter earnings per share of $1.42 (consensus: $1.32) on the back of $18.2bn in revenues (consensus: $17.9bn).
Shares of JP Morgan were also trading on the back foot - although they were just off their 52-week highs - even after posted better than expected EPS for the latest three-month stretch, albeit alongside falling market revenues and higher credit loss provisions.
Dow Jones - Risers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $77.14 0.94%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $129.57 0.76%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $118.45 0.59%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $86.23 0.58%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $91.96 0.55%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $163.99 0.51%
Boeing Co. (BA) $262.51 0.41%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $125.95 0.27%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $156.90 0.22%
3M Co. (MMM) $216.96 0.21%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $97.15 -1.42%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $50.53 -0.99%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.43 -0.88%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $96.24 -0.62%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $33.40 -0.57%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $194.23 -0.53%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $241.36 -0.43%
General Electric Co. (GE) $22.99 -0.37%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $82.34 -0.31%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $164.84 -0.25%
S&P 500 - Risers
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (HST) $19.34 3.59%
W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) $176.87 2.53%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $45.60 2.45%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $35.73 2.35%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $25.78 2.32%
Blackrock Inc. (BLK) $484.65 2.26%
XL Group Ltd (XL) $40.24 2.25%
Kellogg Co. (K) $62.50 2.04%
ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $34.47 2.03%
T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW) $94.71 2.00%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $8.35 -7.02%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $25.27 -5.92%
AT&T Inc. (T) $36.46 -4.53%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $21.16 -3.80%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $50.50 -3.40%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $14.49 -3.40%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $22.22 -3.39%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $36.20 -3.26%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $3.82 -3.18%
TEGNA Inc (TGNA) $12.55 -3.09%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $162.86 3.02%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $45.60 2.45%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $107.58 1.80%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $81.87 1.61%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $32.10 1.56%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $62.23 1.42%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $68.74 1.41%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $53.91 1.28%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $272.23 1.28%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $53.72 1.22%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $248.68 -9.40%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $194.15 -6.61%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $48.88 -5.36%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $36.20 -3.26%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $19.41 -2.95%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $24.50 -2.84%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $18.41 -2.75%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $38.61 -2.55%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class C (LILAK) $22.87 -2.39%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $58.10 -2.24%