Dow component Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT) was up 1.9%, giving the blue-chip gauge a lift, while a 1.2% slide in Caterpillar Inc.(CAT) shares limited the benchmark’s advance. The stock provided the biggest boost to the S&P 500.
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A rise in oil prices, which pushed West Texas Intermediate crude trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange – the US benchmark – into bull-market territory, helped nudge energy stocks up.
Trading activity on Friday may be somewhat subdued amid a lack of major USA economic data due to be released on the day.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks closed slightly higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-pull-back-as-fed-minutes-eyed-for-rate-hike-hints-2016-08-17), shaking off losses as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting showed that some policy makers were eager to raise rates but members were split on when and under what circumstance a rate raise would be most appropriate.
Officials were generally upbeat about the USA economy but some expressed the need to keep their options open in the need of more data pointing to strength, the minutes showed.
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Wall Street was mixed, trading near record highs. In 3.01pm trading in NY, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.03 per cent.
The S&P telecommunications index and utilities, among sectors most sensitive to changes in interest rates, led the day’s declines. Fed speakers on Thursday include San Francisco Fed President John Williams, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, and New York Fed President William Dudley.
Meanwhile data out today showed fewer people sought USA unemployment benefits last week, a signal that layoffs are scarce and employers are hiring at a solid clip. The August figure matched the median forecast among economists polled by Reuters.
Twitter fell 3.4 percent to US$19.49 after Evercore downgraded the stock to “sell” from “hold”.
Shares of Cisco fell, weighing on other tech stocks, after the company said it will axe 5,500 jobs and disappointed with its outlook.
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Valeant Pharma’s USA -listed shares were up 2.8 percent at $30.81 after the drugmaker said it received approval from a lender to amend its credit facility. On the Nasdaq, 1,245 issues rose and 1,006 fell.
