Stocks experienced a setback on Thursday. Ken Meyers has your stock market report on the Acadiana Business Index.

  • The Dow fell from a record high as it lost 152 points to close at 15593. The S&P 500 Index declined 23 points to 1747. The NASDAQ was down 74 points to 3857.
  • Equities declined as better-than-expected readings on economic growth and employment prompted speculation that the Fed may curtail its bond-buying program.
  • GDP increased at a 2.8% annualized rate in the third-quarter and jobless claims fell for the fourth straight week to 336,000. This overshadowed an unexpected decision by the ECB to cut its key interest rate to a record low.
  • Overall, every sector retreated. Consumer stocks gave up the most ground. Whole Foods dropped 11.3% to $57.16 and Mondelez International fell 4% to $32.09 after both companies lowered their full-year guidance. Losses in the telecommunications group also weighed on the market. CenturyLink lost 6.3% to $31.77 after its revenue fell for the fifth consecutive quarter. In tech, Qualcomm declined 3.9% to $67.03 after predicting quarterly sales that missed analyst estimates. On the upside, Twitter rallied 73.2% in its trading debut on the NYSE to close at $45.02.
  • NYSE Composite volume totaled over 4 billion shares. On the NYSE, decliners beat advancers by 7-2 on issues and 6-1 on volume. The NASDAQ was 7-2 negative on issues and 5-1 negative on volume. Treasuries gained ground. The 10-year note increased 10/32 to yield 2.60% and the 30-year bond was up a full point to yield 3.72%.

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