Investing.com – U.S. stocks were mixed after the open on Thursday, following the release of better-than-expected U.S. data on initial jobless claims.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.04%; the S&P 500 index fell 0.06% and the Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.03%.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that U.S. initial jobless claims declined to a seasonally adjusted 445K last week after falling to revised 456K in the preceding week. Analysts had expected jobless claims to decline to 455K last week.
In the financial sector, lenders were mixed as Citigroup shares rose 1.59%, global investment bank Goldman Sachs gained 0.70% and Bank of America added 0.12%.
But shares in M&T Bank tumbled 2.47%, a day after Allied Irish Banks Plc. said it planned to sell its 22.4% stake in the New York-based lender. U.S. listed shares of the Irish lender plummeted 6.25% after the open.
Elsewhere, retail sector stocks were mixed after the open after a number of retailers released reports of their September sales.
Shares in clothing-retailer Abercrombie & Fitch soared 9.10%, after it said September same-store sales rose 13%, beating analysts’ expectations of a 3.6% rise. Meanwhile, rivals American Eagle Outfitters climbed 7.53%, after it revised its fiscal third-quarter earnings outlook upwards.
But shares in Bebe Stores plunged 9.80%, after the women’s clothing retailer said same-store sales fell 4.7% in September.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed: France’s CAC 40 gained 0.13%; Germany's DAX rose 0.13%; Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.25%; and the EURO STOXX 50 was up 0.11%.
Earlier in the day, the European Central Bank left its interest rate unchanged at a record low for the seventeenth consecutive month.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.04%; the S&P 500 index fell 0.06% and the Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.03%.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that U.S. initial jobless claims declined to a seasonally adjusted 445K last week after falling to revised 456K in the preceding week. Analysts had expected jobless claims to decline to 455K last week.
In the financial sector, lenders were mixed as Citigroup shares rose 1.59%, global investment bank Goldman Sachs gained 0.70% and Bank of America added 0.12%.
But shares in M&T Bank tumbled 2.47%, a day after Allied Irish Banks Plc. said it planned to sell its 22.4% stake in the New York-based lender. U.S. listed shares of the Irish lender plummeted 6.25% after the open.
Elsewhere, retail sector stocks were mixed after the open after a number of retailers released reports of their September sales.
Shares in clothing-retailer Abercrombie & Fitch soared 9.10%, after it said September same-store sales rose 13%, beating analysts’ expectations of a 3.6% rise. Meanwhile, rivals American Eagle Outfitters climbed 7.53%, after it revised its fiscal third-quarter earnings outlook upwards.
But shares in Bebe Stores plunged 9.80%, after the women’s clothing retailer said same-store sales fell 4.7% in September.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed: France’s CAC 40 gained 0.13%; Germany's DAX rose 0.13%; Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.25%; and the EURO STOXX 50 was up 0.11%.
Earlier in the day, the European Central Bank left its interest rate unchanged at a record low for the seventeenth consecutive month.