A disappointing forecast from Wal-Mart and weakness in oil stocks have pushed the Dow lower, while the Nasdaq edged closer to 5,000 thanks to strong results from Priceline.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 44.08 points (0.24 per cent) to 17,985.77 on Thursday.
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 2.23 (0.11 per cent) to 2,097.45, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 18.34 (0.37 per cent) to 4,924.70.
Wal-Mart was the biggest loser in the blue-chip index, falling 3.2 per cent after disclosing a lower-than-expected profit forecast due in part to a plan to raise wages for 500,000 workers in the US.
Oil giants Chevron and ExxonMobil, both Dow members, dropped by 1.9 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively, amid falling oil prices.
But online travel site Priceline gained 8.5 per cent after reporting a 20 per cent rise in quarterly earnings and announcing plans to buy back up to $3 billion in shares.
Facebook and Tesla Motors both rose by 3.5 per cent. Amazon advanced 1.5 per cent.
Dow member American Express lost 1.7 per cent after a US judge concluded the credit-card company’s policies barring merchants from steering customers to lower-cost credit cards results in higher prices and violates antitrust law.
AmEx said it would appeal the decision.
Dow member Coca-Cola rose 0.9 per cent after announcing an eight per cent increase in its quarterly dividend.
Food and food-services distributor Sysco fell 3.4 per cent after US antitrust authorities moved to block the company’s $8.2 billion takeover of US Foods. Sysco said it would seek a “full judicial review” of the FTC action.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.11 per cent from 2.08 per cent Wednesday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.73 per cent from 2.71 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
