4:17pm: Apple down 5% this week
The Dow closed Thursday up 10 points, less than 0.1% at 37,440, the Nasdaq Composite fell 82 points, 0.6%, to 14,510 and the S&P 500 declined 16 points, 0.3%, to 4,689. The small-cap Russell 2000 index slid 2 points to 1,958.
The Nasdaq, which enjoyed a strong end to 2023, lost ground for the fifth consecutive day, its longest such streak since October 2022.
Apple stock fell 1.3% on a downgrade from analyst Piper Sandler, a day after Barclays also downgraded the company. On the week, the tech titan's shares are down 5%.
12:00pm: Stocks rally but technology lags
Stocks were broadly higher after robust jobs data boosted hopes for a soft economic landing.
But technology stocks, the vanguard of growth in 2023, continue to lag in 2024, with Apple unsettled by two downgrades in three days.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 208.99 points, 0.6%, at 37,639.18, the S&P 500 was up 8.96 points, 0.2%, at 4,713.94 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 9.37 points, 0.1%, at 14,582.84.
Nancy Vanden Houten at Oxford Economics said the jobless claims data "are still subject to seasonal noise, but looking past that volatility, the initial claims data are consistent with labor market conditions that are loosening but not unravelling and still characterized by relatively few layoffs."
She expects the December jobs report on Friday to show a further deceleration in nonfarm payroll growth.
"We estimate payrolls to have increased 145,000, down from the 199,000 gain in November, when returning strikers boosted headline job growth," she said.
Stocks on the move include Walgreens Boots Alliance, down 8.4%, after the company slashed its dividend by almost 50% as it endeavours to initiate cost saving measures and increase cash flow amid falling sales for Covid-19 products.
9:44am: Stocks attempt to rally but Nasdaq struggles once more
Stocks attempted to rally after a weak start to 2024 but another downgrade for Apple saw tech stocks struggle once more.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 68.16 points, 0.2%, at 37,498.35, the S&P 500 was up 2.73 points, 0.1%, at 4,707.54 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 43.29 points, 0.3%, at 14,548.93.
Apple fell 0.9%, taking its losses for the week to around 4%, after being downgraded by Piper Sandler to 'neutral.' two days after Barclays lowered its rating on the tech giant to 'underweght'.
"We are concerned about handset inventories entering into 1H24 and also feel that growth rates have peaked for unit sales," the broker said in a note to clients.
Elsewhere, investors were digesting another batch of data on the jobs market ahead of non-farm payrolls tomorrow.
US new jobless claims fell by more than expected in the most recent week, new data on Thursday showed.
According to the US Department of Labor, new jobless claims totalled 202,000 in the week ended December 30.
This is down from last week's revised level of 220,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 218,000.
The four-week moving average was 207,750, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 to 212,500.
Continuing jobless claims for the week ended December 23 was 1.855 million, down from 1.886 million a week earlier.
The US labour market added more jobs than expected in December, according to a tracker from payroll processing firm ADP on Thursday.
ADP said sector employment increased by 164,000 jobs in December, picking up from a 101,000 rise in November and ahead of the consensus of 115,000.
The November total of jobs added was revised from 103,000 to 101,000.
"Job gains rose for the fourth straight month, led by a healthy bump in leisure and hospitality hiring. Construction held strong in the face of high interest rates, but manufacturing continued to struggle, notching another month of losses," ADP said.
7:00am: Brighter start expected on Wall Street
It looks like a brighter start for US markets after the downbeat start to proceedings so far in 2024.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%, while those for the S&P 500 were 0.1% higher and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.2%.
Investors will be watching data on the labour market ahead of Friday’s jobs report for further clues as to the future direction of interest rates.
Yesterday’s minutes from December’s Federal reserve meeting showed officials felt rates would need to stay high form some time although they had probably peaked.
Joshua Mahony at Scope Markets said the minutes “brought a little bit of something for everyone.”
New applications for US state unemployment aid are predicted to have edged down slightly to 216,000 last week from 218,000 before, while the ADP employment report is forecast to show that 115,000 private sector jobs were added in December, up from 103,000 in November.
Elsewhere, Walgreens Boots will report its latest quarterly earnings.