US stocks close mixed session on fiscal stimulus impasse and rising jobless claims

4:05 pm: US equities end mixed session  US stocks closed a mixed session as investors weighed the progress (or lack thereof) on new fiscal stimulus talks.   Market sentiment also was dampened by the release of higher-than-expected jobless claims data. Initial weekly jobless claims jumped to 853,000 last week, topping estimates of 730,000. On the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 69 points, or 0.23%, to 29,999. The S&P 500 fell 0.13% to 3,668 but the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.54% to 12,405.  12:25 pm: Nasdaq a bright spot as Dow, S&P slip The Dow is flirting with the 30K line, down 65 points, 0.2%, to 30,004. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, has gained 41 points, 0.3% to 12,379,and the S&P 500 ticked 4 points lower, 0.1%, to 3,668.6. "Stocks are a little mixed as the Dow Jones is a touch lower, but is off the lows of the session, while the Nasdaq 100 is now showing a tiny gain," CMC Markets UK analyst David Madden wrote Thursday. "...When you take into [account] the disappointing headline US non-farm payrolls report last week, there is an argument to be made that the US recovery is running out of steam. Speaking of the economic rebound, policy makers are still arguing over the Covid-19 stimulus package. Steven Mnuchin, the treasury secretary, said they were making a lot of progress with respect to the negotiations." 10:35 am: Proactive North America headlines: WeedMD Inc (CVE:WMD) (OTCQX:WDDMF) (FRA:4WE) says its Color Cannabis cultivar Pedro’s Sweet Sativa has been awarded Top Sativa Flower in Canada Gevo Inc (NASDAQ:GEVO) (FRA:ZGV3) sends sustainable aviation fuel to Seattle airport via its supplier Avfuel Corporation Aurania Resources Ltd (CVE:ARU) (OTCQB:AUIAF) (FRA:20Q) prepares for drilling at Tsenken N1 target in Ecuador as it outlines next steps Versus Systems Inc (CSE:VS) (OTCQB:VRSSF) (FRA:BMVA) announces 1:16 reverse stock split to aid Nasdaq listing requirements VUZIX Corp Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI) (FRA:V7XN) helping CH Four Biogas to scale North American operations and reduce carbon emissions with Smart Glasses roll-out Vox Royalty Corp (CVE:VOX) (OTCMKTS:VOXCF) hails strong potential for start of mining in 2021 at Bulong, Australia as it updates on royalty partner news Luckbox expands affiliate marketing programme Media Central  Corporation Inc (CSE:FLYY) (FRA:3AT) announces LOI to acquire media and marketing company Lazarus Bleau 9:43 am:  US stocks start lower The main Wall Street indices dropped into the red on Thursday morning as a rise in US jobless claims rattled investors. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.54% at 29,907 while the S&P 500 dropped 0.67% to 3,648 and the Nasdaq fell 0.82% to 12,238. Fragile investor sentiment seems to have been shattered by the initial jobless claims figures for the week to December 5, which reported that 853,000 Americans filed for unemployment, up from 716,000 the week before, as surging COVID-19 cases and new lockdown measures in multiple states began to weigh on the US’s economic recovery. “After a disappointing November jobs report, the early indications are that December will be even worse. We could even see a drop in employment if today’s jobless claims numbers are anything to go by”, said analysts at ING. “We strongly suspect that Covid-19 containment measures will intensify and spread to more and more states. In any case there is evidence to suggest that consumers are already voting with their feet. The charts below show the number of restaurant visits are plummeting while hotel reservations are at their lowest level since May and domestic travel is also seeing weakness. This means we run the risk of further significant job losses in the leisure and hospitality industry while the potential for closure of non-essential retail is adding to the worries about the jobs market. “While there is optimism about a vaccine it will take time before it is distributed to enough people to allow a full return to “normality”. This means we need to be braced for a window of perhaps 3 or 4 months where restrictions will weigh on economic activity. Consequently, we see a growing probability that employment declines in coming months and not just in those sectors focusing on consumer service who are most likely to experience direct restrictions”, they added. 7.50am: Wall Street to make muted but mostly higher start US indices are expected to make a hesitant start, with attention focused on the hullaballoo surrounding the flotation of Airbnb. The S&P 500 is expected to open more or less unchanged at 6,373. The Dow Jones industrial average is tipped to edge 37 points higher to 30,105 while the Nasdaq 500 is on course to open a measly 11 points firmer at 12,349. Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ:ABNB) shares are expected to start trading today after the spare room booking app developer priced its initial public offering (IPO) at US$68, well above the recently indicated target range of US$56 – US$60. The IPO price values Airbnb at more than US$40bn. "Technological innovation means that hosts and host management companies are more easily able to manage inventory, availability, and pricing across different platforms, and this is reducing the costs of switching from Airbnb,” cautioned Dan Thomas, an analyst at Third Bridge who sees challenges to Airbnb on several fronts. "In some markets, we see a trend of hosts acquiring visitors through the Airbnb platform, but then retaining them via cheaper platforms or direct booking discounts,” Thomas said. "Booking Holdings is a formidable competitor. In FY 2019 it generated almost USD 4.9bn in operating cash. It has been fine-tuning its performance marketing funnel and has shown an appetite for vacation rentals. "An important question is how much more growth Airbnb can achieve through direct traffic to the platform once the pandemic is over. For the nine months to end September, 91% of all site traffic arrived directly or via unpaid channels which helped preserve the business through an exceptionally challenging period. Pre-pandemic, the level of direct enquiry or via unpaid channels was 77% of Airbnb’s total traffic, a level at which achieving profitability is far more challenging,” Thomas said. As for US macroeconomic data, today sees the release of the consumer price index. Daiwa’s chief economist for America, Mike Moran, thinks that “tame food and energy readings” will limit the headline index to a 0.1% month-on-month gain, but that the reversal of pandemic-related discounting will lead to a 0.2% lift in the core index. The latter would leave the annual inflation rate close to last month’s reading of 1.6%. It’s Thursday, so there will also be the weekly jobless claims report where it will be interesting, according to Daiwa, to see whether initial claims sustained the lower reading seen last week. Five things to watch for on Thursday: Second quarter earnings figures from IT major Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) are likely to draw some attention to the company news diary Traders may also be interested in fourth quarter numbers from semiconductor maker Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) Meanwhile, warehouse shopping giant Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) will also draw attention as it releases first quarter earnings In the macro diary, inflation data for November is likely to be the headline figure Jobless claims numbers for the week to December 5 will also provide some clarity on the state of the American jobs market