U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday in a choppy trading session to finish a holiday-shortened week lower as tariff worries continued to dent investors’ sentiment. The S&P 500 increased slightly, but the Dow and Nasdaq ended in negative territory.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) slid 1.3% or 527.16 points, to end at 39,142.23 points.  

The S&P 500 added 0.1% or 7 points to close at 5,282.70 points. Consumer staples and real estate stocks were the biggest gainers, while tech stocks were among the worst performers. 

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) gained 2.1%, while the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) rose 1.6%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) lost 0.5%. Nine of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.1% or 20.71 points to finish at 16,286.45 points. 

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 29.65.  A total of 14.6 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 19.2 billion.

Tariff Concerns Continue to Dent Investors’ Sentiment

U.S. stocks rose for a brief period on Thursday after President Donald Trump said that there was “big progress” in bilateral trade talks, following Wednesday's massive selloff. Trump said that he was hopeful that trade deals would be reached soon with China and the European Union. 

Trump’s comments came after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned on Wednesday that the tariff policies could push the U.S. economy into a recession, which could make the central bank’s job difficult. 

Stocks nosedived after that but recovered briefly on Thursday. However, the session remained choppy, with the S&P 500 somehow managing to end the day in green. The Dow remained in negative territory, with UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) weighing on the blue-chip index. 

Shares of UnitedHealth Group plummeted 22.4% after the insurance giant lowered its annual profit forecast. UnitedHealth Group has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Traders have been worried over the past few weeks as they are still unsure how the tariffs will impact the economy’s health despite Trump’s optimistic remarks.

Economic Data

The Labor Department reported that jobless claims totaled 215,000 for the week ending April 12, decreasing 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 224,00. The four-week moving average was 220,750, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 223,250.

Continuing claims came in at 1,885,000, an increase of 41,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,844,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,867,250, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average of 1,866,250. 

The Commerce Department said on Thursday that U.S. single-family housing starts fell 14.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 940,000 in March, to hit an eight-month low. 

Building permits rose 1.6% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.482 million, recording the first increase since November. However, building permits fell 0.2% year over year in March. 

Weekly Roundup

All three major indexes ended in the red for the week. For the week, the Dow was down 2.7%, while the Nasdaq lost 2.6%. The S&P 500 ended the week 1.5% lower. 

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