Stocks close mixed; Nasdaq up 7th straight day
Stocks closed mostly lower Thursday, but tech stocks bucked the trend and pushed the Nasdaq higher for a seventh straight day.
The broader S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow fell as cautious investors react to Walmart's (WMT) earnings and the ongoing battle between Greece and the eurozone over debt obligations.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 44.08 points, or 0.2%, to 17,985.77 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 2.23 points, or 0.1%, to 2097.45.
The Nasdaq composite index gained 18.34 points, or 0.4%, to 4924.70.
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BIGGEST MARKET MOVERS:Fed, jobs, Europe, oil
Oil prices dropped as benchmark U.S. crude fell 98 cents to close at $51.16 a barrel on rising supplies.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.11% from 2.08% Wednesday. That comes after after a sharp drop the previous day after the Fed said raising rates too soon could hurt the recovery.
Dow component Walmart reported fourth quarter sales in line with expectations Thursday as foot traffic increased in stores and more people placed online orders during the holiday shopping season. But investors were disappointed by forecasts and the stock fell 3%.
Overseas, European markets were mixed. Greece requested an extension in its rescue loan agreement — but not associated budget measures — in a last-moment bid to break a deadlock with its creditors in the 19-country eurozone over its bailout program. However, Germany — the biggest European contributor to Greece's rescue loans — responded coldly to the request.
Greece's creditors in the 19-country eurozone had said the country has until Friday to request an extension to the 240 billion euro ($272 billion) bailout that has kept it afloat since 2010. Its loans expire on Feb. 28.
The main stock market in Athens was up 0.7% and Germany's DAX gained 0.4%. But Britain's FTSE 100 index dropped 0.1%.
In Asia, Japanese stocks climbed to their highest level in nearly 15 years. The Nikkei 225 index gained 0.4% to close at 18,264.79. It earlier reached an intraday peak of 18,322.50 – the benchmark's highest level since May 2000 – as strong trade data boosted sentiment. Most regional markets were closed for lunar new year holidays.
Contributing: Jane Onyanga-Omara, Associated Press.