Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Decline To 5-Year High – Acadiana Business Index

Stocks finished lower as the market took a breather from its recent rally. Ken Meyers has your stock market report on the "Acadiana Business Index."

• The Dow slipped from its record high, closing down 23 points at 15082. The S&P 500 declined 6 points to 1626. The NASDAQ fell 4 points to 3409.
• The major averages ended the session in negative territory despite receiving an encouraging update on the labor market.
• Before the open, weekly initial jobless claims unexpectedly declined to a five-year low of 323,000.
• Additional data showed wholesale inventories rose 0.4% in March, slightly higher than the consensus estimate for a 0.3% increase.
• Attention was also on the currency market as the dollar rallied above 100 yen for the first time since April 2009.
• On the earnings front, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters gained 27.8% to $76.04 and Tesla Motors climbed 24.4% to $69.70 after posting better-than-expected quarterly results. Shares of Rackspace tumbled 24.7% to $39.36 and Monster Beverage retreated 5.2% to $54.01 after reporting profits below analyst projections.
• All 10 sectors in the S&P 500 finished in negative territory. Utilities and telecom were the worst performing groups on the session. Edison International declined 2.7% to $49.79. AT&T closed 1.3% lower at $37.33.
• Breadth was negative on issues by a 9-5 margin on the NYSE and 8-5 on the NASDAQ. NYSE Composite volume totaled 3.4 billion shares.
• Treasuries erased earlier gains with the 10-year note finishing down 1/32 to yield 1.81%.

For the complete economic report, click Ken's Market Report.