U.S. Stocks Little Changed as Oil Dips; Financial Shares Advance

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks were little changed, with financial stocks offsetting losses in telecom and energy shares as the price of crude oil fell.

The S&P 500 Index lost less than 0.1 percent to 2,389.52 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark hasn't posted gains or losses exceeding 0.2 percent for seven straight sessions, and has struggled to top a record last seen on March 1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 6 points to 20,951.47 Thursday.

• Russell 2000 down 0.2% after opening higher
• Financial stocks end 0.2% higher after adding as much as 1% in early trading
• Energy shares lose 1.9% with oil down 5% for third loss this week
• Telecom shares down 1.1% as real estate stocks reverse earlier losses to edge higher; 10-year Treasury yield up 3 bps
• S&P 500 volume 12% higher than 30-day average
  • Volume movers: Viacom, General Mills, Scripps, Willis Towers Watson and Kraft Heinz all trading with volume at least 5x 30-day average
• VIX up to 11
  • Volatility movers: Kimco Realty, Vertex Pharma, Time Warner, Digital Realty and Rockwell Automation have highest put/call volume ratio in S&P 500
  • Facebook down 0.6% after saying it expects revenue growth to slow “meaningfully” after it stops increasing the frequency of marketing spots in the news feed later this year
  • POLITICS: 
    • House Republicans mustered just enough votes to pass their health-care bill Thursday, salvaging what at times appeared to be a doomed mission to repeal and partially replace Obamacare under intense pressure from President Donald Trump to produce legislative accomplishments
    • The 217-213 vote sends the American Health Care Act to the Senate, where it has little chance of being passed in its current form
    • ECONOMY:
      • Bloomberg Consumer Comfort: consumer confidence last week held close to the highest level in more than 15 years as Americans felt a little better about their finances and whether it's a good time to spend
      • March durable goods orders rise 0.9%, compared with 0.7% estimate
      • U.S. worker productivity declined in the first quarter by the most in a year as growth in the world's largest economy weakened
      • Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped more than forecast last week, consistent with a robust labor market, a Labor Department report showed Thursday
      • EARNINGS:
        • Of the firms that have already reported, 78% beat profit forecasts and 63% topped sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show
        • After-market Thursday: CBS Corp (CBS), PerkinElmer Inc (PKI), Marathon Oil Corp (MRO), Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI), Monster Beverage Corp (MNST), Consolidated Edison Inc (ED), Stericycle Inc (SRCL), Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI)
        • Pre-market Friday: Moody's Corp (MCO), Welltower Inc (HCN), Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH), CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP), Cigna Corp (CI), Ameren Corp (AEE), Dentsply Sirona Inc (XRAY), Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK/A)

        For more equity market news:

        • VIX Is So Depressed They're Minting New Strike Prices on Options
        • An Equity Guide to Macron: What May Gain and Lose If He Wins
        • An Equity Guide to Le Pen: Winners and Losers If She Prevails

        To contact the reporter on this story: Oliver Renick in New York at orenick2@bloomberg.net.

        To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Nagi at chrisnagi@bloomberg.net, Scott Schnipper

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