Investing.com – Wall Street closed at record highs shrugging off a slump in energy and technology as earnings season continued to garner investor attention.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 26,392.79. The S&P 500 closed 0.06% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 7411.16, down 0.05%.
Corporate earnings remained front and centre as investors piled into stocks after bullish earnings from 3M and caterpillar that topped analysts’ forecasts on both the top and bottom lines.
Yet both companies fell sharply after US markets opened before paring gains to trade higher, lifting the broader indexes. Offsetting that, however, was ongoing weakness in technology stocks led by Apple.
Apple closed 1.79% lower amid fading investor expectations for strong iPhone X sales after J.P. Morgan analyst Narci Chang wrote in a research note earlier this week that "high-end smartphones are clearly hitting a plateau this year."
Economic data, meanwhile, appeared to have muted impact on equities as jobless claims rose less than expected while new home sales for December fell sharply.
The Commerce Department said on Thursday new home sales declined 9.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 625,000 units last month.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial jobless claims increased 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week ended Jan. 20.
In corporate earnings news, Starbucks revealed mixed quarterly earnings as earnings per share beat but revenue fell short of estimates, while same-store sales were weaker than expected. Same-store sales - an important metric for retailers - was reported weaker across board expect in China where same-store sales grew 6%.
"China grew revenues 30 percent in Q1, with the strategic acquisition of East China positioning us to accelerate our growth in the key China market," Kevin Johnson, president and CEO, said in a statement.
'Bulls and Bears' on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) rose 2.5%, 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) up 1.9% and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) up 1.6%
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) down 1.8%, General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) down 1.6%, and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) down 0.6%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.