United States markets edged lower on Thursday, paring some of their early losses. Energy companies were down after a meeting of OPEC ministers ended without an agreement on crude production cuts. Utilities stocks also fell.
KEEPING SCORE Near midday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.13 percent and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down 0.19 percent. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 0.18 percent.
ENERGY OPEC oil ministers ended a meeting in Vienna without reaching a consensus on regulating supplies.
Benchmark United States crude rose 12 cents to $49.13 a barrel on the Brand-new York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, which is used to price worldwide oils, was up 25 cents at $49.97.
Shares of Exxon Mobil fell 1.2 percent.
OIL FALLOUT Shares in several oil drilling and exploration companies were down. Diamond Offshore Drilling lost 3 percent, while Transocean slid 3.6 percent. Anadarko Petroleum stock fell 3 percent.
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ROUGH QUARTER Shares of the retailer Conn’s sank 23.7 percent after the company reported quarterly results that fell short of analysts’ estimates.
IN THE CLOUD Shares of the online storage provider Box tumbled 12 percent after the company reported disappointing results late Wednesday.
J&J BUYS VOGUE INTERNATIONAL Johnson & Johnson stock rose on news the company has actually agreed to buy the privately held hair care products maker Vogue worldwide for about $3.3 billion. Vogue’s hair care products are sold in the United States and 38 other countries. Johnson & Johnson shares rose about 1 percent.
SEXY SALES L Brands, the company behind the Victoria’s Secret brand, rose 3.1 percent after it reported its latest sales figures.
LAYOFFS PROXY The Labor Department said fewer Americans applied for jobless aid last week, the third straight drop, in a sign that the job market remains healthy despite a recent slowdown in hiring. Weekly applications for unemployment aid dipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 267,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to 276,750.
EUROPEAN MARKETS In Germany, the DAX was slightly higher and in France, the CAC 40 was down 0.2 percent. The FTSE 100 dropped 0.1 percent in Britain.
WATCHING EUROPE In Europe, stock indexes were mixed after the European Central Bank said that its stimulus measures were helping the economy of the 19 countries that use the euro and needed time to work before any Brand-new monetary jolts are added.
ASIA’S DAY The Nikkei 225 declined 2.3 percent in Japan after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided to postpone a sales tax increase to avoid shocks to the faltering recovery. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.5 percent. The Shanghai composite index added 0.4 percent in China. The Kospi was up 0.2 percent in South Korea. In Australia, the S.&P./ASX 200 lost 0.8 percent. Southeast Asian markets were mixed.
CURRENCIES AND BONDS Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.80 percent from 1.84 late Wednesday. In currency markets, the dollar fell to 108.70 yen from 109.54 in the previous day’s trading. The euro fell to $1.1149 from $1.1186.
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