In this Jan. 27, 2021 file photo, pedestrians pass the New York Stock Exchange, in New York. Stocks were off to a mixed start on Wall Street Thursday, Sept. 16, as gains for retailers are offset by drops in technology and materials companies. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
Another day of choppy trading on Wall Street left stocks mostly lower, cutting into the major indexes' gains for the week.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each lost about 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq managed to eke out a gain of 0.1%. More stocks fell than rose in the S&P 500, and most of the benchmark index’s sectors took slight losses.
The market had edged higher in the early going after a surprisingly good retail sales report for August, but then quickly turned lower and remained there for much of the day. By late afternoon, major indexes had clawed back the ground they lost earlier and turned slightly higher, only to shed some of those gains in the final minutes of trading.
Markets have been choppy as investors shift money between various sectors while they parse any data coming out that could give more clues and signals on the potential direction of the economy and how the Federal Reserve will react.
The central bank will meet next week, and investors will listen closely for any comments about when and how much it will taper support for low interest rates that have helped fuel gains for stocks throughout the year.
“What you’re seeing over the last month has been hesitation to really commit,” said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist with TD Ameritrade. “Until we have more clarity from the Fed, the pattern will continue.”
The S&P 500 fell 6.95 points to 4,473.75. The index remains within 1.4% of the all-time high it set on Sept. 2. The Dow dropped 63.07 points to 34,751.32, while the Nasdaq added 20.39 points to 15,181.92.
Small company stocks also gave up some ground. The Russell 2000 index slipped 1.54 points, or 0.1%, to 2,232.91.
Investors were given another mixed bag of economic data to review as they try to gauge the economic recovery’s path ahead amid the virus pandemic, inflation and other factors.
The Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 0.7% last month. Economists had expected a 0.85% contraction over concerns that people would have pulled back on spending as the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 prompts consumers to pull back on shopping.
Consumers simply shifted spending to more online purchases and away from businesses that are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, including restaurants and other business that rely on in-person spending.
Wall Street also weighed a disappointing report showing that weekly unemployment claims rose more than expected.
Industrial, health care and raw materials companies were the biggest drag on the S&P 500. Deere & Co. fell 1.2%, Eli Lilly dropped 1.2% and Freeport-McMoRan slid 6.6%, the biggest drop in among S&P 500 companies.
Losses for banks were tempered by rising bond yields that help them charge more lucrative interest on loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.33% from 1.30% late Wednesday.
A mix of retailers gained ground following the retail sales report, which showed a surprise jump in August. Gap rose 1.6% and Bath & Body Works rose 2.1%.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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