Market News

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ticked higher on Thursday, while the Dow ended in negative territory amid mixed third-quarter earnings results. Energy shares declined the most due to a fall in oil prices as concerns about growth in the Chinese economy grew.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) slipped 0.1% or 45.74 points to close at 34,945.47. Notably, 17 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 13 ended in negative zone.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 14,113.67, rising 0.1%.

The S&P 500 gained 0.1% to finish at 4,508.24. Seven out of 11 broad sectors of the benchmark ended in positive territory, while four were in the negative zone. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) and the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) gained 0.5%, 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 1% at 14.32. A total of 10.71 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 11.09 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.42-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.97-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.

Oil Prices Continue to Fall on Demand Worries

Oil prices continued their decline on Thursday, falling about 5% due to increased inventories. In the energy market, the West Texas Intermediate December contract experienced a decline of $3.76, marking a 4.9% decrease and settling at $72.90 per barrel. Similarly, the Brent January contract saw a drop of $3.76, reflecting a 4.63% decline and settling at $77.42 per barrel. Both U.S. crude and the global benchmark reached their lowest levels since early July.

Crucially, U.S. crude inventories rose by 3.6 million barrels last week, while industrial production recorded a significant fall of 0.6% in October, according to data released by the Federal Reserve. This surge in supply is contributing to the downward pressure on prices.

In addition to these domestic factors, a 2.8% slowdown in crude refining throughput in China during October, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics, adds to the narrative of a potential fall in global demand.

Consequently, shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. FANG and Halliburton Company HAL fell 2.1% and 3.3%, respectively. Both carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Mixed Q3 Earnings Results

Tetra Tech, Inc. TTEK reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 adjusted earnings of $1.78 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.45. Revenues of $1,260.6 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $981 million. Consequently, the stock price of Tetra Tech rose 3.5%.