Stocks closed mixed on Thursday as November's rally took a pause after the previous session's strong performance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 50 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite added 0.12% and 0.07%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Making headlines on Thursday, the United Auto Workers' deal with General Motors
Elsewhere, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said Thursday that the U.S. can avoid a deep recession, but the burden of higher interest rates on small businesses, housing and lower-income still pose some risks.
"I believe that a soft landing is possible, with continued disinflation and a strong labor market, but it is not assured," she said in prepared remarks for a speech in San Francisco.
In economic news, initial unemployment claims rose more-than-expected to 231,000 for the week ended Nov. 11, according to the Labor Department's report on Thursday, rising 13,000 from the previous week and coming in ahead of analyst expectations. Continuing jobless claims also rose to 1.865 million, increasing by 32,000 over the previous week.
On the earnings front, Walmart
"In the U.S., we may be managing through a period of deflation in the months to come and while that would put more unit pressure on us, we welcome it, because it's better for our customers," CEO Doug McMillon said during the company's earnings call on Thursday.
Macy's
Cisco Systems
In single-stock news, Amazon
Bank of America analyst Tl Liani downgraded Palo Alto Networks
"The high bar of expectations suggests risk of further deterioration to billings, in our view, but also a possible negative impact on FCF and challenges to hit the long-term growth targets," Liani wrote in a note to clients on Thursday.
For Friday, market participants will react to more Fedspeak, as well as economic data on housing starts and building permits for October.