US stocks have closed in the red, with the tech-rich Nasdaq leading the losses for a second day as investors weigh a batch of mixed economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped a scant 4.76 points (0.03 per cent) to 16,264.23.
The S&P 500 shed 3.52 (0.19 per cent) at 1,849.04, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was the worst performer, tumbling 22.35 (0.54 per cent) to 4,151.23.
Markets spent the better part of the day in negative territory, extending Wednesday’s losses.
Trade was choppy after data showed a drop in first-time claims for US unemployment benefits last week, an upward revision to US fourth-quarter economic growth to an annual rate of 2.6 per cent, and a steeper than expected fall in pending home sales to the lowest level since October 2011.
IBM was the Dow’s biggest drag, falling 1.5 per cent, followed by Cisco, down 1.3 per cent.
Citigroup plunged 5.4 per cent in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s rejection of its share buyback and dividend increase plans due to weakness in its results in stress tests.
Microsoft weighed on the Nasdaq, losing 1.2 per cent. The software giant released a version of its popular Office suite for rival Apple’s iPad tablet, a landmark move toward making its applications run across all platforms. Heavyweight Apple fell 0.4 per cent.
Facebook reversed hefty earlier losses and ended almost 1.0 per cent higher. The social media company shed 6.9 per cent on Wednesday, as investors question its $US2 billion ($A2.17 billion) deal to buy virtual reality company Oculus.
Candy Crush maker King Digital sank for a second day after the British firm’s IPO, losing 2.7 per cent to $18.49, compared to the IPO price of $22.50.
Yahoo added 0.4 per cent. Yahoo Japan said it would buy almost all of domestic telecom company eAccess from its parent Softbank Corp. in a deal valued at around $US3.2 billion.
Twitter leaped 4.3 per cent. The company on Wednesday added Facebook-style photo tagging and bumped up the number of images iPhone users can share in a single post.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.67 per cent from 2.70 per cent on Wednesday, while the 30-year yield dropped to 3.51 per cent from 3.55 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
