This time, it was the economy.
A government report stating jobless claims rose from one week ago, a drop in housing starts for April and a falling Consumer Price Index all conspired to put a damper on stocks’ recent rally, and all three indices dropped into the red by the end of Thursday trading.
The S&P 500 led the way down, declining 0.5% to 1650.47, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.28% to close at 15233.22. The Nasdaq fell 0.18% to 3465.24.
Tech stocks rallied around Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), whose shares soared more than 12% after announcing sales and earnings that beat Street estimates. Cisco competitors Ciena (NASDAQ:CIEN, +6.7%) and Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR, +4.2%) also saw significant bumps up in sympathy.
The decline in housing starts rattled homebuilders such as Pultegroup (NYSE:PHM, -2.6%), D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI, -2.3%) and Hovnanian (NYSE:HOV, -2%). Shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN), which is sitting near a 52-week high, fell just under 2% as well, and even DIY retailer Home Depot (NYSE:HD) took a 1.5% spill.
Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) rebounded from Wednesday’s losses, improving by more than 8% after the electric automaker said it was issuing new stock and convertible notes to raise capital — some of which it would use to repay a Department of Energy loan — and that CEO Elon Musk planned to buy $100 million worth of the new shares.
Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) jumped more than 4% after beating its own guidance numbers in quarterly earnings, though it reported a lower profit.
And finally, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) announced better-than-expected quarterly earnings, but a decrease in same-store sales and weak Q2 guidance sent its shares down just under 2%.
Three Up
- DryShips (NASDAQ:DRYS): Up 12.2% (23 cents) to $2.10.
- SolarCity (NASDAQ:SCTY): Up 10.9% ($3.52) to $35.69.
- NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP): Up 6.2% ($2.24) to $38.46.
Three Down
- Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD): Down 12.6% (55 cents) to $3.83.
- Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK): Down 6.5% ($1.13) to $16.48.
- Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL): Down 5.1% (29 cents) to $5.37.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
