2014.07.2502:53:01UTC+00US stocks flat, S&P 500 top estimates

US stocks swung from wins and losses in the Thursday trading session as the ongoing corporate earnings season put more stimulus and deterrents on the major stocks of the NYSE with the S&P 500 settling for a new record high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average struggled to cap losses in the trade, keeping the decline minimal with a 0.02% loss of 2.38 pips to 17,083.80. The index’s blue-chip losses was paced by Caterpillar. S&P 500, meanwhile, added 0.05% or 0.97 pips to 1,987.98 approaching the 2000 mark with a 27th record close for the year 2014. The gauge was led by the utilities and consumer staples shares while the industrial and telecommunications dragged it down the ten industry groups of the index. The Nasdaq Composite trickled down with a 0.04% loss or 1.59 pips to 4,472.11.

The trend showed that for every eight shares that dropped, seven climbed where almost 588 million shares exchanged hands for the trading session. The New York Stock Exchange’s composite volume neared 3.1 billion.

Starbucks Corp. surged by 23% following its earnings report that indicated a boost in sales in the US. Facebook Inc. shared the sentiment of the beverage maker as the current no. 1 social media platform reported earnings that surpassed estimations with an incline of 5.2% with an intraday high of $76.74 before settling at $74.98, a record for the company as it announced the success of mobile advertising. Earth-moving equipment maker, Catterpillar Inc., however, dropped despite a positive second-quarter earnings report due to a decline in sales following its announcement to increase its full-year forecast.

Portfolio manager at Stifel Financial, Kevin Caron, commented that improvements in the company is a good sign that the world in general is getting better earnings thus becoming a stimulant to the stock market.