Stocks continue to show a lack of direction in mid-afternoon trading on Thursday, with traders largely shrugging off the day's mixed economic data, looking ahead instead to tomorrow's key jobs report. The major averages are currently mixed, lingering near the unchanged mark.
Early buying interest was generated by a report from the Labor Department showing that first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended November 28th unexpectedly showed a modest decrease compared to the previous week, falling to their lowest level in over a year.
Traders pulled capital out of the market shortly afterward, however, as a report from the Institute for Supply Management revealed that activity in the service sector unexpectedly contracted in the month of November. The contraction came following two consecutive months of growth.
The day's optimism has also been limited by November's comparable store sales data from the nation's largest retailers, a majority of which missed estimates.
Notably, prominent names in the sector such as Saks (SKS), Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) and Children's Place (PLCE) saw lower comparable and net sales for the month despite promotional events and Black Friday sales.
In other news, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that last year's financial crisis could have been "markedly worse" if not for the strong monetary and regulatory actions taken by the Fed, the Treasury, Congress and other authorities. Speaking at his reconfirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Bernanke lauded the Fed for taking such actions as cutting interest rates to near-zero levels, ensuring that financial institutions have access to short-term functions, and implementing targeted lending programs to restart the flow of credit.
The major averages are currently on opposite sides of the unchanged line, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq hanging onto a modest gain. While the Nasdaq is up 7.69 at 2,192.72, the Dow is down 4.00 at 10,448.68 and the S&P 500 is down 0.18 at 1,109.06.
Dow Components
The Dow is seeing a roughly split performance from its thirty components as it lingers near the unchanged line in mid-afternoon trading.
Bank of America (BAC) is the leading percentage gainer in the blue chip index, rising by 1.7 percent following news that the firm is on the cusp of repaying the $45 billion owed to the Treasury Department that it originally received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
AT&T (T) is also advancing, climbing by 1.3 percent. The stock is moving higher for a third straight session and has reached its best intraday price in eleven months.
Intel (INTC), General Electric (GE), Boeing (BA) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) are also seeing notable gains, while significant weakness is visible in shares of America Express (AXP), which are down by 4.1 percent. The stock is falling for a third straight session, pulling back further off Monday's sixteen-month closing high.
Travelers (TRV), Home Depot (HD) and 3M (MMM) are also retreating, contributing to the modest loss currently being shown by the Dow.
Sector News
Semiconductor stocks are notably higher in mid-afternoon trading on Thursday, as reflected by the 2.2 percent gain being shown by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index is extending a recent upward move and is poised to end the day at its best closing level in seven weeks.
Healthcare provider are also holding onto considerable gains, with the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Provider Index up 1.4 percent. With the gain, the index is moving further off of Monday's three month closing low.
On the other hand, health insurance, banking and gold stocks are some of the weakest sectors in the markets. Notably, the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index and the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index are both pulling back off their best closing levels in over a year.
In Focus: Economic Data
As mentioned above, the Labor Department reported that first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended November 28th edged down to 457,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 462,000.
The decrease surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to increase to 480,000 from the 466,000 originally reported for the week ended November 21st.
Meanwhile, the ISM said that its headline index of activity in the service sector fell to 48.7 in November from 50.6 in October, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction in the sector. Economists had been expecting the index to increase to a reading of 51.5.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stocks markets across the Asia-Pacific region saw notable strength on Thursday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 3.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index fell by 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, while the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.
In the bond markets, treasuries remain weaker. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is trading at 3.377 percent, posting a gain of 5.4 basis points.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.