U.S. Indexes Flat, Weekly Jobless Claims at 5-Year Low

Nichole Harper
09 May, 2013
New York City

U.S. indexes traded near flat line after weekly jobless claims dropped to the lowest since January 2008 and inventories at wholesalers increased in March indicating a possible slowdown in orders.

[R]1:30 PM New York – U.S. indexes traded near flat line after weekly jobless claims dropped to the lowest since January 2008 and inventories at wholesalers increased in March indicating a possible slowdown in orders.[/R]

Stocks in New York traded sideways as investors took a cautious stand as market averages hover near record highs.

The S&P 500 index declined 0.2% to 1,629 and the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.03% to 3,414.22 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the narrow index of 30 large companies, declined 3.2 to 15,101.

Weekly initial jobless claims filed at the end of last week dropped to a 5-year low.

Labor Department data showed today jobless claims declined 4,000 to 323,000, the lowest since January 2008.

European Markets

In London trading, FTSE 100 index gained 0.4%, in Frankfurt the DAX index rose 0.7% and in Paris, CAC 40 index increased 0.7%.

Bank of England left its bond purchase target at 375 billion pounds and left its key lending rate at 0.5%.

Spanish treasury also exceeded its maximum target at a bond auction and sold 4.57 billion, Bank of Spain said.

Asian Markets

Asian markets traded lower after a rally of three days. Nikkei in Tokyo declined 0.7%, Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged lower 0.1% and the Sensex in Mumbai dropped 0.35.

China’s inflation rate climbed above expectation but remained below than the government’s forecasted in March.

The National Bureau of Statistics showed, inflation in China increased to 2.4% in April from 2.1% the month before and below forecast of annual rate to 3.5% the Chinese government.

After the close, Toyota Motor reported profit increased four-fold and estimated operating profit in the current fiscal year at 1.8 trillion yen or $18.2 billion compared to 2.3 trillion yen in 2008.

Sony Corp after the close reported net profit of 43 billion yen for the year ending in March on one-time gain of $2 billion after it sold its headquarter in New York and stakes in a chemical unit and in health-care data provider M3 Inc.

Sony estimated operating income to increase to 230 million yen and sales to increase 10% to 7.5 trillion yen. Sony said it TV unit lost money for the ninth year in a row with a loss of 69.6 billion yen totaling a loss of 800 billion yen or $8 billion.

Stocks in Review

Activision Blizzard Inc ((ATVI)) declined 7% after Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick said second half in 2013 “are more challenging than our earlier view.”

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc surged 18.4% or $10.98 to $70.46 after the specialty coffee maker said net sales in the second quarter ending in March climbed 14% to $1 billion. Net income in the quarter soared 42% to $132.4 million or 87 cents a diluted share compared to $93 million or 58 cents.

The coffee maker signed partnership agreement with Starbucks and financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Groupon Inc ((GRPN)) soared 11% after the daily-deals site reported first quarter revenues ahead of expectations and net loss declined to 1 cent, lower than the expectations of 2 cents or more.

Monster Beverage plunged 6% to $53.39 after the energy and caffeinated drinks marker sales in April increased 5.7% compared to 39% jump in the year ago month.

News Corporation ((NWSA)) climbed 3.9% or $1.26 to $33.12 after the media company said revenue in the third quarter ending in March climbed 14% to $9.54 billion. Net income in the quarter surged nearly three-fold to $2.85 billion or $1.22 a diluted share compared to $947 million or 38 cents.

Precision Castparts Corp ((PCP)) soared 7.8% to $207.06 after the metal components and products manufacturer stated sales in the fourth quarter ending in March surged 25% to $2.44 billion. Net income in the quarter soared 25% to $414.2 million or $2.82 a diluted share compared to $336.1 million or $2.30.

Rackspace Hosting, Inc tumbled 24.6% or $12.83 to $39.42 after the cloud computing service provider reported net revenue in the first quarter ending in March surged 20% to $362 million. Net income in the quarter climbed 18% to $27.3 million or 19 cents a diluted share compared to $23.2 million or 17 cents.