US stocks end mixed amid earnings reports

 U.S. stocks closed mixed after wavering between gains and losses Thursday, as investors meditated on a batch of earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6.03 points, or 0.03 percent, to 19,884.91. The S&P 500 rose 1.30 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,280.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 6.45 points, or 0.11 percent, to 5,636.20.

Shares of Facebook Inc. fell 1.79 percent to 130.84 U.S. dollars apiece Thursday, even though the social media networking website delivered better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.

Shares of Ralph Lauren Corp. dived 12.32 percent to 76.61 dollars apiece Thursday after the release of the company's disappointing fiscal third-quarter earnings report.

The latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the fourth quarter of 2016 are expected to rise 7.9 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecast to increase 4.2 percent.

On the economic front, in the week ending Jan. 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 246,000, a drop of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday.

Meanwhile, investors were still sifting through the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.5-0.75 percent.

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. central bank painted a relatively upbeat picture for the country's economy. "Labor market continued to strengthen and ... economic activity has continued to expand at a moderate pace," said the statement.

The Fed also acknowledged the improved consumer and business sentiment following the election of Donald Trump as the U.S. President, but offered no hint on when it might move.

source: Xinhua