Better than expected second-quarter figures from
Alcoa
and a sharp drop in the government's weekly tally of initial jobless claims drew cheers on Wall Street Thursday, but the gains were held in check by somber June sales figures from several retailers and lingering concern about macroeconomic conditions, leaving the major averages little changed by the end of the day.
Alcoa
recorded a loss of 26 cents a share in the second quarter, better than the 38 cents analysts expected, and said aluminum prices are showing signs of stabilizing, while some end-users like
Ford Motor
and
Toyota
are planning production hikes. Shares of the aluminum producer slipped after a positive morning though, losing 2.5%.
By the closing bell the Dow Jones industrial average was right back where it started, up TK. The S&P 500 TK, and the Nasdaq TK.
Weekly jobless claims painted a mixed picture, with new claims falling by a whopping 62,000 to 565,000 and continuing claims climbing back to nearly 6.9 million. Automotive sector layoffs across several states that were weaker or more severe than anticipated contributed to the skewed reports. (See "Initial Claims Worse Than You Think.")
The retail sector limited Thursday's advance, after a number of companies reported disappointing same-store sales for June.
Costco
recorded a 6% drop from June 2008, and lost 1.1%, despite beating estimates of a 6.4% fall in sales. Discount chain
Wal-Mart
, which has weathered the recession better than most rivals but no longer reports monthly sales, was down 0.8%, while rival
Target
, which recorded a 6.2% sales drop, managed to gain 3%.