Thursday Closing Bell: Markets Fade at Close

September 12, 2013: U.S. markets opened mixed again Thursday morning with the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both just slightly better than last night’s close. The weekly report on new claims for jobless benefits fell to a multi-year low, but the Labor Department said the drop may have been due to faulty reporting. Early afternoon comments by Senator Harry Reid and Rep. John Boehner on a government shutdown related to the debate over the U.S. debt ceiling weighed shares down to their daily lows.

Asian and European markets closed mixed today, while Latin American markets closed lower again.

Friday’s calendar includes the following data releases and events (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – Producer price index
• 8:30 a.m. – Retail prices
• 8:55 a.m. – Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index
• 10:00 a.m. – Business inventories

Here are the closing bell levels for Thursday:

• S&P500 1,683.42 (-5.71; -0.34%)
• DJIA 15,3300.64 (-25.96; -0.17%)
• NASDAQ 3,715.97 (-9.04; -0.24%)
• 10YR TNOTE 2.909% (+0.03125)
• Gold $1,330.60 (-33.20; -2.4%)
• WTI Crude oil $108.60 (+1.04; +1%)
• Euro/Dollar: 1.3303 (-0.0012; -0.09%)

Big Earnings Movers: Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) is down 5.4% at $65.27 on weak guidance<<LINK>>. The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is up 2.5% at $38.60. The Men’s Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW) is down 12.1% at $34.05.

Stocks on the move: Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is up 6.7% at $6.35. Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) is up 12.1% at $23.95 after naming a new CEO. The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) is up 2.4% at $65.49 after announcing a new buyback program. The ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) is down 11.4% at $55.49 after a secondary offering.

In all, 129 stocks put up new 52-week highs today, while 55 stocks posted new lows.