Sentiments stays weak for US stocks

DOW dips more than 1%

The US stocks mostly stayed weak in last session. The Nasdaq edged down 20.71 points (0.1%) to 16,286.45, the S&P 500 inched up 7 points (0.1%) to 5,282.70. The narrower Dow showed a more significant move to the downside, tumbling 527.16 points (1.3%) to 39,142.23. The steep drop by the Dow on the day largely reflected a nosedive by shares of United Health (UNH), with the healthcare giant plummeting by 22.4%. United Health tumbled to its lowest closing level in a year after the company reported weaker than expected first quarter earnings and cut its full-year profit forecast.

The Labor Department released a report showing a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended April 12th. The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 215,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 224,000. A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed new residential construction in the U.S. pulled back by much more than expected in the month of March.

Despite the lack of direction shown by the broader markets, pharmaceutical stocks moved sharply higher, leading to a 3.8% spike by the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index. Eli Lilly (LLY) helped lead the sector higher, soaring by 14.3% after reporting positive results from a phase-three trial of a pill to treat weight loss and diabetes. Crude oil prices continuously surged contributing to substantial strength among energy stocks, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index jumping by 3.9% and 2.7%, respectively. Transportation, telecom and housing stocks were considerably strong on the day while gold stocks moved lower along with the price of the precious metal.

Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged by 1.6%. Most European stocks moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index ended the day nearly unchanged, the German DAX Index fell by 0.5% and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.6%.

In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground after trending higher over the past few sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 5.4 bps to 4.33%.

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