A fantastic January for U.S. stocks ended on a slightly sour note Thursday as concerns about the economy — sparked by a jump in jobless claims and nervousness over Friday’s monthly jobs report — hung on the major indices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average took the worst of it, declining 0.36% to 13,860.58. The S&P 500 fell 0.26% to 1,498.11, and the Nasdaq slid marginally to 3,142.13. For the month, the Dow Jones gained 5.8%, the S&P 500 improved 5% and the Nasdaq — weighed by a poor January for Apple (NASDAQ:) — finished ahead 4%.
Earnings news ruled the majority of the day. Postal equipment maker Pitney Bowes (NYSE:) reached three-month highs after gaining more than 20% on an unexpected earnings beat and the announcement of cost-cutting measurements. Meanwhile, UPS (NYSE:) headed the other way, falling just more than 2% after announcing fourth-quarter earnings that fell short of forecasts and issuing weak 2013 guidance.
PulteGroup (NYSE:) was unable to keep up its scorching run despite reporting a big increase in fourth-quarter earnings and a 27% improvement in new orders. However, a projected decline in community count hampered PHM shares, which lost more than 1%.
On the corporate front, Constellation Brands (NYSE:) cratered by 17% after the U.S. Department of Justice challenged Anheuser-Busch InBev‘s (NYSE:) bid to buy out Mexico’s Grupo Modelo (PINK:
). That deal included a provision in which Constellation would buy out the remaining half of its Crown Imports joint venture with Grupo for $1.85 billion, giving it sole distribution rights for all of Grupo’s brands in the U.S. GPMCF and BUD shares fell by roughly 7% and 6%, respectively.
Lastly, Facebook (NASDAQ:) shares dipped early but recovered to losses of less than 1% after reporting Street-beating Q4 earnings and sales, but slower-than-expected mobile and mobile revenue growth.
Earnings notables for Friday include energy sector giants Exxon Mobil (NYSE:) and Chevron (NYSE:), along with Mattel (NASDAQ:) and Newell-Rubbermaid (NYSE:).
Three Up
- WMS Industries (NYSE:): Up 51.2% ($8.38) to $24.75.
- Fortinet (NASDAQ:): Up 21.9% ($4.24) to $23.59.
- JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ:): Up 17% ($2.11) to $14.51.
Three Down
- Elizabeth Arden (NASDAQ:): Down 16.3% ($7.46) to $38.41.
- Fusion-io (NYSE:): Down 13% ($2.61) to $17.48. (Read more here)
- Time Warner Cable (NYSE:): Down 11.3% ($11.36) to $89.34.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor of InvestorPlace. As of this writing, he was long AAPL and XOM.
