WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving higher over the two previous sessions, the major U.S. stock indexes are turning in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. While the Nasdaq and S&P 500 have reached new record intraday highs, the narrower Dow is giving back ground.
The Dow is currently off its worst levels of the day but still modestly lower, down 66.26 points or 0.1 percent at 49,844.33.
Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 191.70 points or 0.7 percent at 26,030.65 and the S&P 500 is up 17.16 points or 0.2 percent at 7,382.28.
The relatively lackluster performance by the broader markets comes as traders take a step back to digest the recent gains, which partly reflected optimism about a peaceful end to the conflict in the Middle East.
The surge over the past two days has lifted the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to new record highs and traders may want to see more tangible results from U.S.-Iran negotiations before making big bets.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. and Iran have had 'good talks over the last 24 hours' and expressed confidence a deal could be reached in the coming days.
A report from Axios said U.S. officials expect Iran's response to a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war within the next 24-48 hours.
Noting some U.S. officials are skeptical a deal will come together, Axios said the White House wants a diplomatic breakthrough by the time Trump wraps his China trip next Friday and could resume military action if a deal is not in hand by then.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rebounded by less than expected in the week ended May 2nd.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 200,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level of 190,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to climb to 205,000 from the 189,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Sector News
Gold stocks are extending yesterday's rally amid a continued increase by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index spiking by 4 percent.
Substantial strength is also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 3.8 percent surge by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.
Airline stocks are also seeing significant strength, while energy stocks are moving sharply lower amid a continued nosedive by the price of crude oil.
With U.S. crude oil futures plunging by nearly 4 percent, the NYSE Arca Oil Index is down by 3.7 percent and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 3.2 percent.
Computer hardware, banking and biotechnology stocks have also moved to the downside, partly offsetting the strength in the aforementioned sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index soared by 5.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index leapt by 1.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 1.3 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.7 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back well off their highs of the session but continue to see modest strength. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.2 basis points at 4.344 percent.
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