The S&P 500 was little changed on Thursday, as the broader index fought higher on the back of solid earnings even as a slide in chip stocks
weighed on equities.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 64.56 points to 52,723.20, thanks to a more than 3% advance in UnitedHealth, which easily topped earnings expectations.
Earnings season is off to a strong start this week. Of the 40 S&P 500 companies that have already reported, more than 87% reported positive surprises. The major banks, which are considered a bellwether for economic activity, crushed second quarter earnings expectations earlier in the week.
The much broader index gained 28.82 points to 7,572.41
The NASDAQ Composite regained 162.22 points to 26,269.23.
Taiwan Semiconductor declined by 2%, as an increase in its spending forecast overshadowed a better-than-expected second-quarter report.
The company expects capital expenditures to clock in between $60 billion and $64 billion for the year, up from a prior guidance in the range of $52 billion to $56 billion.
Techs gained, led by a more than 6% drop in Arm Holdings. Shares of Micron Technology lost 4% and Advanced Micro Devices was lower by more than 3%. Broadcom was lower by more than 3%. The U.S.-listed shares of SK Hynix slid more than 7%.
The latest raft of economic data continued to show a U.S. consumer holding up in the face of higher pricing pressures.
Jobless claims for the week ending July 11 came in at a seasonally adjusted 208,000, lower than the 218,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Retail sales met expectations, up 0.2%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury hiked, lowering yields to 4.57% from Wednesday’s 4.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 26 cents to $79.34 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dumped $40.30 to $3,998.40 U.S. an ounce.
