NASDAQ Suffers first 2-day Slide in 2 Mos.



Equities south of the border closed lower Thursday, with health-care falling approximately 1%, a day ahead of a key speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 33.07 points to close at 18,448.41, with UnitedHealth Group leading decliners and Cisco Systems the top riser.

The S&P 500 dropped 2.97 points to 2,172.47, with health care leading five sectors lower and materials leading advancers.

The NASDAQ Composite settled 5.49 points to 5,212.20

Health-care issues fell Wednesday after presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted about Mylan's price increases of the allergy drug EpiPen. Mylan shares were down more than 1% in afternoon trade.

In corporate news, Tiffany shares rose more than 6% to lead the S&P after posting quarterly earnings that easily beat expectations.

Meanwhile, discount retailers Dollar General and Dollar Tree saw their stocks falling after missing estimates on earnings, revenue and same-store sales.

Yellen is scheduled to speak Friday morning in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Investors also analyzed strong economic data released Thursday. Initial jobless claims fell for a third straight week to 61,000. Durable goods orders for July rose 4.4%, above expectations.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 1.58% from Wednesday’s 1.56%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices grew 53 cents a barrel to $47.30 U.S.

Gold prices fell $4.40 at $1,325.30 U.S. an ounce.