Wall Street Close: Bears step back but not out of the woods

• US equities closed mixed with technology and real estate being positive versus downbeat energy sector performance.
• Virus woes battles pre-pandemic levels of Jobless Claims and mixed Philadelphia Manufacturing Survey data.
• Treasury yields favor Nasdaq and S&P 500, DJI drops for the third consecutive day.
• Macy’s, Kohl’s, BBWI and Nvidia benefits from the earnings reports.

After a dismal Wednesday, US stocks posted mixed Thursday even as US Jobless Claims dropped for a fourth consecutive week to a pre-Pandemic low. The reason could be linked to the mixed Philadelphia Manufacturing Survey details and the virus woes.

Read: Forex Today: Dollar strengthens further as investor run away from high-yielding assets

That said, Nasdaq and S&P 500 both printed mild gains of 0.11% and 0.13% respectively by the end of Thursday’s North American session. On the contrary, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped 66.57 points or 0.19% to 34,894.

US Jobless Claims for the week ended on August 13 dropped to 348K versus 363K forecast and upwardly revised 377K prior. On the other hand, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey for August eased below market consensus of 23 and 21.9 previous readouts to 19.4. However, details suggest that the outcome is much stronger than the decade average of 12.7.

Elsewhere, the virus conditions worsen in the Asia–Pacific and the US is up for using booster shots with daily cases and death tolls reaching record tops.

The same joined the mixed signals from the FOMC Minutes suggesting tapering but staying cautious on rate hikes and employment recovery.

It’s worth noting that the US Dollar Index (DXY) jumped to the fresh high in nine months on Thursday whereas the US 10-year Treasury yields dropped three basis points (bps) to 1.243% by the press time.

Company-specific news suggests that American retailers like Macy’s and Kohl’s rally on upbeat earnings forecast while Bath & Body Works (BBWI) and Nvidia were also on the same line. Energy stocks witnessed losses as oil prices dropped to a five-month low on firmer USD and pandemic woes.

Moving on, a light calendar keeps the risk catalysts on the driver’s seat wherein the fears of tapering and Delta covid variant could keep challenging the bulls.