Wall Street closes flat, Dow ends consecutive gains

The U.S. stocks on Thursday pared earlier losses caused by disappointing earnings in the last trading minutes to close basically flat, with the Dow ending its 8 straight gains.


The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 10.60 points, or 0.09 percent, to 12,229.29, after refreshing the record of longest consecutive gains with a 8th straight rise on the previous trading day.


Among the declining leading components, Cisco Systems Inc plunged more than 14 percent, weighing heavily on sentiment, after the network equipment maker posted a quarterly profit late Wednesday that fell from year-earlier results, although it beat Wall Street's forecasts.


Wal-Mart fell 2.01 percent and Microsoft dropped 1.68 percent, also leading the Dow down, while AT&T and Intel finished higher.


The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.99 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,321.87 and the Nasdaq was up 1.38 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,790.45.


Among the key S&P 500 sectors, energy and transportation stocks rose, while technology, consumer staples and financial were lower.


The Labor Department reported the number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell 36,000, larger than forecast, to a seasonally adjusted 383,000 in the week ended Feb. 5 indicating improvement of job market.


In the day's earnings news, soft drink and snacks maker PepsiCo Inc narrowly beat profit estimates but cut its full-year earnings growth target, citing higher commodity costs, a difficult economy and investments in emerging markets. Its shares slipped 1. 65 percent.


Akamai shares plummeted roughly 15 percent after the Internet delivery company said it expects current quarter results below expectations. At least three brokerages lowered their price targets on the company.


Credit Suisse shares dropped more than 7 percent after the bank missed profit expectations due to debt charges and cut its return on equity target due to tighter capital regulations.


But Whole Foods soared roughly 12 percent after the upscale grocer raised its 2011 profit outlook after a sharp acceleration in sales.


Kraft and Expedia are scheduled to report earnings after-the- bell.


In the other markets, the New York crude benchmark edged up on positive jobless claims report and settled at 86.73 dollars a barrel. The dollar rose against major currencies, while gold prices fell below 1,360 dollars an ounce.
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com)