Stocks opened higher on Thursday after better than expected initial and continuing jobless claims data. The indices held reasonably strong until news came out that Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) may be considering an equity offering of more than $11 billion. This sparked a strong move lower which saw all of the major indices give up nearly all of their gains, before bouncing back modestly.
On the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 28 points higher at 10,415. The widely watched blue-chip index traded in a range between 10,387-10,477. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) closed 0.46% higher at $110.92. Volume was again near record lows, with just 144.6 million shares trading hands versus a 3-month daily average of around 223 million.
The PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ: QQQQ), which tracks the performance of the Nasdaq 100, finished 0.39% to the upside at $46.43. Year-to-date, the widely traded ETF has gained 1.49%.
Gold pulled back on Thursday after the better than expected jobs numbers. COMEX gold futures fell nearly 1% to $1,245.10. The SPDR S&P Gold Trust ETF (NYSE: GLD) closed New York Stock Exchange trading at $121.56. Volume was heavier than normal with around 14 million GLD shares trading hands compared to a 3-month daily average of around 12 million.
Oil opened higher, and traded well early in the session, but fell precipitously from those levels and closed in the red. Essentially crude opened on its highs and went out on the lows, which could be a bearish short-term signal. Much of the activity was likely due to a bearish inventories report which was released today, but economic concerns continue to cause volatile crude trading.
NYMEX crude futures lost 0.76% to $74.10. The United States Oil Fund ETF (NYSE: USO) shed 0.75% to $32.89. In the last month, the USO has dropped 10% as disappointment in the economic outlook is taking a toll on prices in the oil market.
Treasuries fell significantly during the trading session due to moderately stronger risk appetite as well as a disappointing Treasury auction. The iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE: TLT) lost 1.97% to $102.79. The yield on the 10-year note rose 10.15 basis points to 2.7624%.
The Dollar was widely unchanged on Thursday. The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (NYSE: UUP), which tracks the performance of the dollar versus a basket of foreign currencies, finished the day flat after opening lower. The closely watched EUR/USD pair is currently trading at $1.269. Continue to keep a close eye on the Euro, as the Deutsche Bank news could potentially be indicative of bigger problems in the region.
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