S&P 500 Sees Further Upside But Nasdaq Gives Back Ground

(RTTNews) - After experiencing choppy trading during Wednesday's session, stocks turned in another relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the day before eventually closing mixed.

While the Nasdaq dipped 34.49 points or 0.2 percent to 19,112.32, the S&P 500 rose 24.35 points or 0.4 percent to 5,916.93 and the Dow climbed 271.69 points or 0.7 percent at 42,322.75.

With the upward move, the S&P 500 closed higher for the fourth straight session, reaching its highest closing level in well over two months.

The choppy trading on day came as traders digested an avalanche of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing producer prices unexpectedly decreased in the month of April.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand fell by 0.5 percent in April following a revised unchanged reading in March.

Economists had expected producer prices to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.4 percent decline originally reported for the previous month.

Another report released by the Commerce Department showed a slight increase by U.S. retail sales in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said retail sales crept up by 0.1 percent in April after surging by an upwardly revised 1.7 percent in March.

Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 1.4 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still edged up by 0.1 percent in April after climbing by 0.8 percent in March. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve released a report on showing industrial production in the U.S. came in unchanged in the month of April.

The Fed said industrial production was unchanged in April after falling by 0.3 percent in March. Economists had expected industrial production to rise by 0.2 percent.

While utilities output surged by 3.3 percent in April after plunging by 6.2 percent in March, manufacturing and mining output fell by 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Sector News

Pharmaceutical stocks showed a strong move back to the upside following a recent slump, with the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index surging by 2.6 percent after ending Wednesday's trading at its lowest closing level in a month.

Significant strength was also visible among utility stocks, as reflected by the 2.4 percent jump by the Dow Jones Utility Average.

Gold, biotechnology and commercial real estate stocks also saw considerable strength, while oil service and airline stocks showed notable moves to the downside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.0 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries regained ground after trending lower over the past several sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, tumbled 7.3 basis points to 4.455 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Friday may be impacted by reaction to the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including reports on consumer sentiment, import and export prices and housing starts.