U.S. Stocks Closed Mixed; Amazon Tumbles 3% in After-Market Session

A dramatic sell-off in the technology sector helped drive the NASDAQ Composite and S&P 500 Index lower on Thursday while the Dow managed to hold on to most of its gains. Earlier in the session, the tech sector hit an intraday record, along with the NASDAQ and the S&P.

In the cash market, the benchmark S&P 500 Index settled at 2475.42, down 2.41 or -0.10%. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21796.55, up 84.54 or +0.39% and the tech-based NASDAQ Composite finished at 6381.15, down 41.60 or -0.65%.

During the regular session, there wasn’t any news to drive the indexes from their highs. Most traders attributed the selling pressure to profit-taking and position squaring after the strong earnings-related rally all week. Some may have even decided to exit ahead of the release of Amazon earnings after the close.

Breaking News

Amazon shares are down more than three percent in after-hours trading. Setting up the indexes for a possible lower opening on Friday.

Amazon reported a beat on revenue but a huge miss on earnings. Its revenue came in at $37.96 billion, beating street estimates of $37.18 billion, but its EPS was only 40 cents per share, missing street estimates of $1.42 per share.

Crude Oil

U.S West Texas Intermediate and international-benchmark Brent crude oil futures reached an 8-week high on Thursday, closing higher for a fourth straight session. Support continued to be provided by last week’s huge inventory draw down as reported in Tuesday’s American Petroleum Institute’s report and Wednesday’s U.S. Energy Information Administration’s inventories report. Buyers also like Saudi Arabia’s plan to cut exports.

In other news, U.S. shale producers including Hess Corp., Anadarko Petroleum and Whiting Petroleum this week announced plans to cut spending this year as a result of low oil prices.

Skeptics are saying, however, that the upside may be limited because the recent surge in prices may actually encourage more output, particularly from U.S. shale producers with low costs.

Gold

Gold futures fell from their six-week high on Thursday, pressured by a rebound in the U.S. Dollar against a group of major currencies and solid economic data. Investors also continued to digest the Fed’s monetary policy statement while assessing the impact of its plan to begin trimming its massive debt “relatively soon” in a sign of confidence in the U.S. economy.

Economic News

In economic news, initial jobless claims came in at 244,000, slightly above the 240,000 estimate and well-above the previous week’s 234,000.

Core Durable Goods Orders rose 0.2%, below the 0.4% estimate and 0.3% previous read. Durable Goods Orders were up 6.5%, well above the 3.5% forecast and -0.8% previous read.

Additionally, Preliminary Wholesale Inventories rose 0.5%, worse than the 0.3% forecast. The previous read was revised upward to 0.4%. The Goods Trade Balance came in better than expected at -63.9 billion.