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 The Dow and the S&P 500 are in their worst stretch since September.
However, the moves have been slight, with the S&P 500 down about 1.2
percent over the period.
Gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 3.6 percent in
the third quarter, the fastest pace since the first quarter of 2012
and faster than the 3 percent rate that had been expected. Another
report showed that the number of Americans filing new claims for
unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week in a hopeful sign
for the labor market — a day ahead of the November nonfarm payrolls
report.
Traders have been trying to second-guess how the Fed views strong
data and whether the numbers are strong enough for the central bank
to slow its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program, which it said
it would do when certain economic metrics meet its targets.
"The growing perception that the Fed will taper sooner rather than
later may create some anxious moments in the market, as well as some
anxiety for investors," said Clark Yingst, chief market analyst at
Joseph Gunnar & Co in New York. "However, we think this is bullish
for stocks and that the decline is a buying opportunity."
Expectations that the Fed might start tapering this month were
dampened after Dennis Lockhart, the president of the Federal Reserve
Bank of Atlanta, said the GDP data "doesn't make a trend and ...
doesn't drive me to the conclusion that we've had a breakout in
terms of growth."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slipped 68.26 points, or
0.43 percent, to end at 15,821.51. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> fell 7.78 points, or 0.43 percent, to finish at 1,785.04. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 4.84 points, or 0.12 percent,
to close at 4,033.17.
The Dow and the S&P 500 are on track to post their first negative
week in nine. Wall Street's recent rally, which took the Dow and the
S&P 500 to all-time highs, came mostly on expectations that the Fed
would hold steady with its stimulus. The three major U.S. stock
indexes have each climbed more than 20 percent this year.
Apple <AAPL.O> rose 0.5 percent to $567.90 after China Mobile Ltd
<0941.HK>, the country's largest mobile operator, said it was still
negotiating to offer iPhones on its network. A media report had
earlier said that the long-awaited agreement had been reached.
Earlier, Apple hit a 52-week high just above $575.
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But Microsoft <MSFT.O> fell 2.4 percent to $38 in heavy volume. It
was the biggest points decliner by far in the Nasdaq 100 <.NDX> and
outweighed Apple's boost.
J.C. Penney Co Inc <JCP.N> shares tumbled 8.4 percent to $8.85
after Morgan Stanley reiterated its "underweight" rating on the
stock and said November's 10 percent sales growth was not enough to
change the company's outlook.
Other major U.S. retailers posted disappointing sales for November
as cautious shoppers pinched their pennies at the start of the
holiday season.
Costco <COST.O> shares fell 1.6 percent to $120.95 after the
warehouse club chain said sales at stores open at least a year rose
2 percent, below the 3.3 percent increase that analysts were
expecting.
But the stock of Dollar General Corp <DG.N> jumped 6.1 percent to
$59.81 and ranked as the S&P 500's best performer after the discount
retailer posted third-quarter earnings and said same-store sales
rose 4.4 percent in the same period.
About 64 percent of the stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange
closed lower for the day, while 52 percent of Nasdaq-listed shares
ended in negative territory.
About 5.1 billion shares traded on all U.S. platforms, according to
BATS exchange data.
[By Ryan Vlastelica © 2013 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
Copyright 2013 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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