US stocks little changed, bonds dip on economic data

The S&P 500 finished Thursday flat, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 was up only 0.1%, following an AI-stock boost in the morning. The Russell 2000 fell 0.3%.

After a better-than-expected September, retail sales report, traders cut their bets on further easing from the Federal Reserve during the upcoming November meeting, as recent data has shown that the economy is far from entering a recession. The bond market took a hit as a result. The 10-year yield jumped 8 basis points to 4.09%. On the longer-term end, the 30-year yield rose nearly 10 basis points to 4.39%, its biggest one-day jump since August. (Bonds and yields move in opposite directions.)

The stock market’s rise earlier in the day, bolstered by a slew of earnings beats, faded in the last hours of trading. Most sectors retreated. The utilities sector fell 0.9%.

The technology sector was up 0.3%, thanks to a rebound in chip stocks after two days of woes. Broadcomand Micron advanced more than 2%, after TSMC reported a blockbuster quarter in the morning.

Energy was the best-performing sector on Thursday, up 0.5%. The sector rallied along with oil futures, which settled modestly higher on Thursday — the first session in five days that the commodity ended on a positive note. The November WTI Crude was up 0.4%, while the December Brent crude gained 0.3%.