While you were sleeping: Wall Street creeps to records

Wall Street seesawed, with the Dow and S&P 500 both touching fresh record highs, as gains in Wal-Mart on better-than-expected results offset declines in shares of energy companies as oil extended its slide.

In afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.19 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index eked out a 0.03 percent gain, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.31 percent. Earlier in the session the Dow reached a record high 17,705.48 and the S&P 500 touched a record 2,046.18.

In the Dow, gains in shares of Wal-Mart and those of Cisco, up 4.2 percent and 2.4 percent respectively, outweighed slides in shares of Caterpillar and those of Chevron, down 1.4 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.

"It’s great to see stocks going up, but at the same time investors are troubled about something, and what they are a little bit troubled about is valuation," Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer of Hugh Johnson Advisors in Albany, New York, told Reuters. "That’s why you get this creep higher, not euphoria."

Shares of Wal-Mart rallied after the company reported better-than-expected same store sales for the third quarter.

“Being the price leader is an ongoing priority for us and a commitment to customers. As with every year, that is even more important during the holiday season," Doug McMillon, Wal-Mart Stores CEO, said in a statement. “We have some things in our favour this fourth quarter, including lower fuel prices in the US and other key markets, and we're set to deliver for customers during this time.”

However, other retailers failed to meet expectations. Shares of JC Penney sank 7.8 percent, while those of Kohl's fell 2.9 percent on disappointing earnings.

Shares of DreamWorks Animation shares soared, last up 15.2 percent, after reports Hasbro was in talks to buy the Hollywood studio. Shares of Hasbro shares dropped 4.8 percent. 

Oil continued its downward spiral. Brent for December settlement, which expires on Thursday, shed 2 percent to US$78.76 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate for December delivery dropped 2.5 percent to US$75.23 a barrel.

While US weekly initial jobless claims rose more than expected to 290,000 last week, it didn’t alter the view that the labour market continues to gather steam.

"This increase is nothing to worry about," Ian Shepherdson, an economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told Reuters. "Claims can remain close to their current trend for an extended period."

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 ended the day with a 0.2 percent increase from the previous close. The UK’s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.4 percent, as did Germany’s DAX. France’s CAC 40 added 0.2 percent.

(BusinessDesk)