WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the steep drop seen during Wednesday's session, the major U.S. stock indexes turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 regained ground, but the narrower Dow saw further downside to close lower for the fourth straight day.
The major averages finished the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Dow dipped 140.59 points or 0.3 percent to 42,374.36, the S&P 500 rose 12.44 points or 0.2 percent to 5,809.86 and the Nasdaq climbed 138.83 points or 0.8 percent to 18,415.49.
The rebound by the tech-heavy Nasdaq was partly due to a surge by shares of Tesla (TSLA), with the electric vehicle maker soaring by 21.9 percent.
The spike by Tesla came after the company reported better than expected third quarter earnings and CEO Elon Musk said his 'best guess' is 'vehicle growth' will reach 20 to 30 percent next year.
Shares of UPS (UPS) also saw significant strength after the delivery giant reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
On the other hand, a nosedive by shares of IBM (IBM) weighed on the Dow, with the tech giant plunging by 6.2 percent after reporting weaker than expected third quarter revenues.
Fellow Dow component Honeywell (HON) also tumbled by 5.1 percent after the conglomerate reported better than expected third quarter earnings but revenue missed estimates.
Boeing (BA) also moved to the downside after the aerospace giant's machinists union rejected a new labor deal, extending a six-week strike.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, although substantial weakness was visible among airline stocks, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index plunging by 3.5 percent.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) led the sector lower, plummeting by 5.6 percent even though the airline reported better than expected third quarter results.
Gold stocks also showed a substantial move to the downside despite an increase by the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.9 percent.
On the other hand, housing stocks saw considerable strength on the day, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 1.5 percent.
The strength among housing stocks came after the Commerce Department released a report showing new home sales surged to their highest level in over a year in September.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Thursday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.3 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.7 percent, although Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets showed modest moves to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both inched up by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries regained ground after moving notably lower over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 4.2 basis points to 4.200 percent.
Looking Ahead
Trading on Friday may be impacted by reaction to a report on durable goods orders and a revised reading on consumer sentiment.
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