S&P 500 closes higher for 4th day; Dow drops
Stocks closed mixed Thursday as the Standard & Poor's 500 extended its rally for a fourth straight day and posted solid gains for the holiday-shortened week. But the Dow Jones industrial average broke its winning streak and closed lower Thursday but still racked up nice gains for the week.
Investors were digesting a large batch of mixed earnings reports as markets are looking to see if corporate profits are strong enough to justify higher stock prices.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.54 points, or 0.1% to 1,864.85 and the Nasdaq composite index gained 9.29 points, or 0.2% to 4,095.52.
But the Dow Jones industrial average fell 16.31 points, or 0.1%, to 16,408.54, dragged lower by IBM's disappointing earnings report.
U.S. markets will be closed Friday for the Good Friday holiday. In the holiday-shortened week, the S&P rose 2.7% for the week. The Dow and Nasdaq were both up 2.4% for the week.
After the closing bell Wednesday, tech giants Google and IBM reported earnings that disappointed investors.
Shares of Google fell 3.7% to $536.10 after the Internet search company said profit came in at $6.27 a share. The company was expected to make a profit of $6.40 a share.
IBM dropped 3.3% to $190.01 after reporting first-quarter earnings fell 21% from a year ago.
Other companies reporting earnings Thursday included: Goldman Sachs, General Electric, Morgan Stanley, PepsiCo and Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Thursday's trading reflected buying and selling on earnings news, rather than a broader market theme taking hold, said Paul Mangus, head of equity research and strategy for Wells Fargo Private Bank.
"Going into this quarter, expectations are low, so if you disappoint on low expectations you're likely to be penalized," Mangus said. "However, they also present the opportunity for some significant beats because the estimates are that low."
In economic news, first-time applications for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, but the longer trend is moving down, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to 2.72% after reaching 2.63% late Wednesday.
Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.3% to 22,760.24 and China's Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.3% to 2,098.88.
In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.6% to 6,625.25 and Germany's DAX index rose 1% to 9,409.71.
In energy trading, benchmark crude oil for May delivery was up 65 cents to $104.41. The contract rose 1 cent to settle at $103.76 on Wednesday.
Wednesday, the Dow rose 162.29 points, or 1%, to close at 16,424.85. The S&P 500 index gained 19.33 points, or 1%, to 1,862.31. The Nasdaq composite index surged 52.06 points, or 1.3%, to 4,086.23.
Contributing: The Associated Press