Wall Street Ends Flat, Gives Up Big Gains
U.S. equity markets gave up substantial gains late in the session after a soccer match between the Netherlands and Germany was canceled due to a possible bomb threat.
As of 3:20 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 21 points, or 0.12% to 17461. The S&P 500 shed 6 points, or 0.30% to 2046, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 6 points, or 0.14% to 4980.
The telecom and health care sectors were leading the pack as equity markets reversed course.
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Investors shifted out of equities and into U.S. debt shortly after the soccer match in Hnnover was canceled fewer than two hours before kickoff.
In recent action, the yield n the 10-year U.S. Treausry bond was down 0.026 percentage point to 2.248%, while stocks gave up substantial gains. The Dow had been up more than 100 points at its session high.
Fundamentals were on investors’ minds throughout the trading day after better-than-expected third-quarter results from retail giants Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD).
The world’s biggest retailer reported its fifth-straight quarter of same-store sales gains, which sent Wal-Mart shares jumping nearly 3%. The retail giant also issued upbeat guidance both for the current quarter and the full-year. Wal-Mart expects 2015 earnings to come in between $4.50 and $4.65 a share, up from earlier forecasts for $4.40 to $4.70 a share.
Home Depot shares also rallied after the company revealed adjusted quarterly earnings per share of $1.36 on revenue of $21.82 billion. The results beat expectations for $1.32 a share on sales of $21.77 billion, and were helped by the continued recovery in the housing market. The world’s No. 1 home-improvement retailer also reiterated its full-year guidance.
Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS), however, plunged after the retailer said it expects its full-year same store sales to come in flat to up 1%. Same-store sales in the third quarter rose 0.4% as the company’s CEO put the blame on unusually warm winter weather that has hit other big-name retailers including Macy’s (NYSE:M) and Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN).
On the economic calendar, traders digested the latest snapshot of consumer price inflation from the Labor Department, which showed prices rose 0.2% in October from the month prior, matching expectations. Prices excluding food and energy rose by the same margin, while year-over-year prices rose 0.2% compared to 0.1% expectations.
The National Association of Home Builders’ gauge of homebuilder sentiment fell to 62 in November from 65 in October, while analysts had expected a shallower decline to 64.
Elsewhere in the market, commodities resumed their declines. Global oil prices saw red as focus there returned to worries about the persisting global supply glut that’s helping to keep prices at multi-year lows. U.S. crude dropped 1.07% to $40.67 a barrel, while Brent, the international benchmark, slipped 2.22% to $43.57 a barrel.
Metals were lower as traders felt more comfortable shifting back into riskier plays and out of safe havens. Gold declined 1.38% to $1,068 a troy ounce, while silver declined 0.36% to $14.17 an ounce. Copper, meanwhile, shed 0.59% to $2.11 a pound.
“But global indices and the U.S. dollar have been rallying in early trading today as the initial negative market repercussions of the Paris attacks swiftly gave way to a defiant rally across the board,” IG market analyst Josh Mahony said in a note.
After slight gains in the previous session, European equity markets posted substantial gains. The Euro Stoxx 50, which tracks large-cap companies in the eurozone, gained 2.67%, while the German Dax added 2.41%, the French CAC 40 gained 2.77%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 jumped 1.99%.
The moves higher come after Greece reached a tentative deal with its international creditors on the economic and financial reforms it must make in order to make good on in order to receive its next $2.1 billion financial aid package. Data out of the UK also showed consumer prices declined for the second-straight month.
In recent action, the euro slid 0.36% against the U.S. dollar, while the greenback was mixed against a basket of global currencies.