By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks veered between slight gains and losses Thursday afternoon as cheer over Japan's monetary stimulus hit resistance as U.S. jobless claims climbed to a four-month high.
The yen (USDJPY) fell the most since 2011; U.S. Treasury prices rallied, sending 10-year yields to a three-month low and commodities declined for a fifth session.
After a near 75-point advance and 12-point drop, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was lately down 1.69 points at 14,548.66.
The S&P 500 index (SPX) held steady at 1,553.57, with telecommunications leading sector gains and energy hardest hit.
Erasing gains, the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) declined 7.12 points, or 0.1%, to 3,211.52.
Advancers edged just ahead of decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, where almost 294 million shares traded by 1:25 p.m. Eastern.
Composite volume approached 1.8 billion.
The data come ahead of Friday's monthly nonfarm-payrolls report and after data Wednesday from ADP showed just 158,000 private-sector jobs were created in March. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch are forecasting in nonfarm payrolls in Friday's report, down from an earlier 195,000 target.
"If tomorrow's report is better than expected, the psychology of a soft patch in the economic data stream might turn on its head, but if we get confirmation of that soft patch, it might be the start of a much-discussed pullback," said Art Hogan, a market strategist at Lazard Capital Markets.
"We still have central banks, that's good news," added Hogan, referring to the Bank of Japan boosting its bond buying Thursday to support economic growth, while both the ECB and the Bank of England held their interest rates unchanged.
Ahead of the open, U.S. stock futures had risen while the yen plunged after the Bank of Japan announced aggressive easing measures aimed at lifting the economy out of a prolonged deflation.
The iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ) rallied. Read a blog on three ways to play the Bank of Japan move.
And, at a press conference in Frankfurt Thursday, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Thursday said the ECB was prepared to reduce interest rates if the region's economy weakens further.
Speaking after the ECB held its benchmark rate at 0.75%, Draghi said the central bank was considering "various instruments" to support growth as Europe's debt troubles persist into a fourth year.
"The initial pop was due to the Japanese stimulus, as it was a greater magnitude than was expected. But that may be tempered a little bit by the news out of the European Central Bank and jobless claims were higher than expected," said Andrew Fitzpatrick, director of investments at Hinsdale Associates Inc.
"Given the market's big jump, it is becoming more sensitive to [economic data] and all this talk of a pullback," Fitzpatrick added.
The Labor Department reported those filing for state unemployment benefits rose 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 385,000, the highest number since November and more than expected.
On Wednesday, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said the central bank could begin tapering off its $85 billion-a-month asset-buying program by the summer owing to improvement in the labor market. It is the clearest timetable put forward by a top Fed official yet.
The remarks from Williams "would appear the most likely catalyst for a big reversion in equity markets, but traders will probably be left looking for more clarification...before scrambling for the lifeboats," Fawad Razaqzada, market strategist with GFT Markets, said in an email.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen will deliver a speech on how the central bank tries to communicate with markets and the general public to the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. The event starts at 5 p.m. Eastern time, after the close of markets.
Disappointing ADP data on Wednesday helped drive a drop of 111.66 points, or 0.8%, for the Dow industrials, which finished that session at 14,550.35. The S&P 500 index lost 16.56 points, or 1.1%, to 1,553.69.
On Tuesday, the Dow and S&P 500 both climbed to record closing highs.
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks veered between slight gains and losses Thursday afternoon as cheer over Japan's monetary stimulus hit resistance as U.S. jobless claims climbed to a four-month high.
The yen (USDJPY) fell the most since 2011; U.S. Treasury prices rallied, sending 10-year yields to a three-month low and commodities declined for a fifth session.
After a near 75-point advance and 12-point drop, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was lately down 1.69 points at 14,548.66.
The S&P 500 index (SPX) held steady at 1,553.57, with telecommunications leading sector gains and energy hardest hit.
Erasing gains, the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) declined 7.12 points, or 0.1%, to 3,211.52.
Advancers edged just ahead of decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, where almost 294 million shares traded by 1:25 p.m. Eastern.
Composite volume approached 1.8 billion.
The data come ahead of Friday's monthly nonfarm-payrolls report and after data Wednesday from ADP showed just 158,000 private-sector jobs were created in March. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch are forecasting in nonfarm payrolls in Friday's report, down from an earlier 195,000 target.
"If tomorrow's report is better than expected, the psychology of a soft patch in the economic data stream might turn on its head, but if we get confirmation of that soft patch, it might be the start of a much-discussed pullback," said Art Hogan, a market strategist at Lazard Capital Markets.
"We still have central banks, that's good news," added Hogan, referring to the Bank of Japan boosting its bond buying Thursday to support economic growth, while both the ECB and the Bank of England held their interest rates unchanged.
Ahead of the open, U.S. stock futures had risen while the yen plunged after the Bank of Japan announced aggressive easing measures aimed at lifting the economy out of a prolonged deflation.
The iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ) rallied. Read a blog on three ways to play the Bank of Japan move.
And, at a press conference in Frankfurt Thursday, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Thursday said the ECB was prepared to reduce interest rates if the region's economy weakens further.
Speaking after the ECB held its benchmark rate at 0.75%, Draghi said the central bank was considering "various instruments" to support growth as Europe's debt troubles persist into a fourth year.
"The initial pop was due to the Japanese stimulus, as it was a greater magnitude than was expected. But that may be tempered a little bit by the news out of the European Central Bank and jobless claims were higher than expected," said Andrew Fitzpatrick, director of investments at Hinsdale Associates Inc.
"Given the market's big jump, it is becoming more sensitive to [economic data] and all this talk of a pullback," Fitzpatrick added.
The Labor Department reported those filing for state unemployment benefits rose 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 385,000, the highest number since November and more than expected.
On Wednesday, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said the central bank could begin tapering off its $85 billion-a-month asset-buying program by the summer owing to improvement in the labor market. It is the clearest timetable put forward by a top Fed official yet.
The remarks from Williams "would appear the most likely catalyst for a big reversion in equity markets, but traders will probably be left looking for more clarification...before scrambling for the lifeboats," Fawad Razaqzada, market strategist with GFT Markets, said in an email.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen will deliver a speech on how the central bank tries to communicate with markets and the general public to the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. The event starts at 5 p.m. Eastern time, after the close of markets.
Disappointing ADP data on Wednesday helped drive a drop of 111.66 points, or 0.8%, for the Dow industrials, which finished that session at 14,550.35. The S&P 500 index lost 16.56 points, or 1.1%, to 1,553.69.
On Tuesday, the Dow and S&P 500 both climbed to record closing highs.
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