New York - Wall Street stocks dipped early Thursday following mixed earnings and weaker than expected US economic data.
About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 18,097.99, down 14.62 points (0.08 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 3.22 (0.15 percent) to 2,103.41, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 2.36 (0.05 percent) at 5,008.66.
Citigroup rose 1.5 percent after the bank's first-quarter earnings topped analyst forecasts, but chipmaker SanDisk tumbled 7.1 percent behind a disappointing forecast.
New construction of homes in the United States rose 2.0 percent to an annual rate of 926,000 units, the Commerce Department said, a smaller increase than expected.
New claims for US unemployment insurance benefits rose to 294,000 last week, their highest level in six weeks and well above estimates, according to Labor Department data.
Netflix surged 114.4 percent after reporting that global subscriptions rose above 60 million in the first quarter. Net income fell to $24 million from $53 million, due in part to the strong dollar.
Dow component Goldman Sachs fell 1.0 percent despite nearly a 40 percent rise in first-quarter earnings to $2.7 billion. However, expenses for compensation and employee benefits rose 11 percent.
UnitedHealth, another Dow member, jumped 3.3 percent as it reported a 28.6 percent increase in first-quarter earnings to $1.4 billion.
Tobacco giant Philip Morris International shot up 7.6 percent after lifting its 2015 forecast following a better-than-expected first quarter.
Brooklyn, New York-based firm Etsy was set to begin trade after raising about $267 million in an initial public offering. The online company bills itself as the "antidote to mass manufacturing" by selling handmade and vintage goods.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 1.88 percent from 1.90 percent Wednesday, while the 30-year dipped to 2.54 percent from 2.55 percent
AFP
