Wall St falls on mixed earnings as jobs report looms

The S&P 500 .spx was up 4.28 points, or 0.20 percent, at 2,106.59 and the Nasdaq Composite index .ixic was up 6.72 points, or 0.13 percent, at 5,149.20. The prospect of an imminent December interest rate hike has sparked a few mild jitters – particularly after the typically dovish Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, speaking on CNBC this morning, said he would keep an “open mind” regarding an interest rate liftoff.

On Wednesday, US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen reiterated that the central financial institution might begin elevating brief-time period rates of interest at its December coverage assembly if the U.S. financial system is “performing nicely”.

On the economic front, in the week ending October 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 276,000, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level and above market expectations, the US Labor Department said on Thursday. The S&P 500 fell 2.38 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,099.93.

“If the incoming info helps that expectation, then our assertion signifies that December can be a stay risk”, Yellen stated.

The S&P healthcare sector .SPXHC fell 0.4 percent, weighed down by Celgene’s results.

Qualcomm fell 5.3 percent to $57.05 after giving a lower-than-expected profit forecast for the first quarter.

HomeAway surged 25.3 per cent to $40.15 after Expedia said it would buy the vacation rental site for $3.9bn (£2.56bn). The rise of the dollar had secondary impact in causing the price of oil to fall, which in turn pushed oil, gas and energy stocks lower. 2 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, whereas Brent crude for December supply decreased 60 cents to shut at $ forty seven.ninety eight a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

The US dollar rose against most major currencies as recent remarks by Fed officials bolstered market speculation for an interest-rate hike by year-end.

ROTTEN: Whole Foods Market fell $1.39, or 5 percent, to $29.34.