Major indices close flat but most stocks gain
The S&P 500 was flat at Thursday’s close, and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.1%. Both indices are heading toward a weekly loss. The Russell 2000 rose with a tiny 0.7% gain. 342 of the S&P 500 constituents ended with a gain.
Major indices were mostly up earlier in the trading hours. There were a few positive economic data releases in the morning: Second-quarter gross domestic product growth was revised up to 3%, while weekly jobless claims declined.
All energy stocks gained Thursday afternoon with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund rising 1.3%, leading to Energy being the best-performing S&P 500 sector.
Conversely, Tech lost 0.9%, the most among all sectors, dragged down by Nvidia, which despite reporting another quarter of blockbuster earnings on Wednesday dipped 6.4%.
Shares of discount retailers also tanked, which may signal intensifying competition to win consumers as they cut spending. Dollar General lost a whopping 32.2%, the biggest dip of all time, after reporting disappointing sales and profit outlook. Dollar Tree, which will report earnings next week, also fell 10.3%.