US stocks end on flat note, DOW manages to hit record closing high

The US stocks closed roughly flat with the Dow still managing to hit new record closing high. The Dow ended the day up 161.35 points (0.4%) at 43,239.05, the Nasdaq crept up 6.53 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 18,373.61 and the S&P 500 edged down 1 point or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,841.47.

Semiconductor stocks supported the markets for much of the session before a late-day pullback, although the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index still ended the day up by 1.0%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) reported a sharp increase in third quarter profits.The strong results from TSMC offset concerns about the outlook for semiconductor demand following a warning from Dutch chipmaker ASML (ASML) earlier in the week.

There was positive sentiment regarding the largely upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales increased by slightly more than expected in the month of September. The Commerce Department informed that retail sales rose by 0.4% in September after edging up by 0.1% in August. The expected rise in retail sales was 0.3%. If sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers were to be excluded, retail sales climbed by 0.5% in September after rising by 0.2% in August. Ex-auto sales were expected to inch up by 0.1%.

According to Labor Department, a pullback by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended October 12th. The initial jobless claims fell to 241,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level of 260,000. There was an expectation that jobless claims will inch up to 260,000 from the 258,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The Federal Reserve released a report showing industrial production in the U.S. fell by slightly more than expected in the month of September. It also said industrial production decreased by 0.3% in September after rising by a downwardly revised 0.3% in August. An expectation of industrial production to dip by 0.2% was beaten by an actual 0.8% increase originally reported for the previous month.

In Asia-Pacific region, the stocks moved mostly lower on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.7%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.1%.

The major European markets moved to the upside after the ECB lowered interest rates. The French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.2%, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7%.

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, is up by 7.7 at 4.093%.

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