US STOCKS-Wall Street mixed; Nordstrom and Gap tumble after results
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* Nordstrom (JWN), Gap tumble on weak earnings
* Core PCE index rises in October
* Market mixed after Fed releases minutes
* Indexes: Dow -0.23%, S&P 500 -0.02%, Nasdaq +0.01% (Updates with afternoon trading)
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Nordstrom (JWN) tumbled 29% and Gap slumped 23%, after the two retailers reported weak quarterly results and warned of supply chain problems ahead of the crucial U.S. holiday shopping season.
The S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector index rose 0.1%, while the retail index was flat after data showed U.S. consumer spending increased more than expected in October.
The so-called core PCE price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, also accelerated in October.
Nvidia (NVDA) rose 2% as the graphics chipmaker bounced back from a selloff in Big Tech stocks early this week.
Various Federal Reserve policymakers said they would be open to speeding up elimination of their bond-buying program and move more quickly to raise interest rates if high inflation held, minutes of the U.S. central bank's last policy meeting showed.
Earlier, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President
Other data showed weekly jobless claims fell and third-quarter GDP was revised higher, while a University of Michigan survey showed consumer sentiment improved in November.
Coronavirus infections broke records in parts of
"Equities are under pressure from a combination of rising
interest rates, more cautionary news on the earnings front, and
also from COVID developments in
The U.S. stock market will be closed on Thursday for the
Real estate led among 11 S&P 500 sector indexes with a gain of over 1%.
In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.23% at 35,732.8 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.02% to 4,689.76.
The Nasdaq Composite added 0.01% to 15,776.00.
Tesla Inc (TSLA) rose 0.7%. In his latest of several
recent share sales, CEO
Shares of PC makers HP Inc (HPQ) and Dell Technologies (DELL) jumped 11% and 5%, respectively, after they logged a more than four-fold rise in quarterly profits amid increasing demand for personal computers.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.05-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.05-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 46 new highs and 224 new lows.
(Additional reporting by