Wall Street’s weak start to 2024 carried into a third day. Stocks finished mixed on Thursday following reports showing the U.S. job market remains solid, though maybe a touch too strong.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, and is on track for its first losing week in the last 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a gain of less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.6%.
Walgreens Boots Alliance sank after cutting its dividend nearly in half in order to hold onto more cash. That helped overshadow gains for airlines and cruise-ship operators.
On Thursday:
The S&P 500 fell 16.13 points, or 0.3%, to 4,688.68
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.15 points, less than 0.1%, to 37,440.34.
The Nasdaq composite fell 81.91 points, or 0.6%, to 14,510.30.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 1.47 points, or 0.1%, to 1,957.73.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is down 81.15 points, or 1.7%.
The Dow is down 249.20 points, or 0.7%.
The Nasdaq is down 501.05 points, or 3.3%.
The Russell 2000 is down 69.35 points, or 3.4%.