Jobless Claims, Weak Industrial Output Cool Markets
By wchung | 18 Jun, 2026

Stocks traded in a tight range Thursday after mixed economic reports gave investors an excuse to take a break from buying after five straight days of gains.

The Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly for the second straight week. Figures on industrial production also fell short of expectations, but did show growth for the ninth straight month.

The downbeat economic news is being tempered by an encouraging earnings outlook from UPS Inc. and a strong regional manufacturing report.

UPS released strong first-quarter results early and said it has renewed optimism for the year. As the world’s largest shipping company, UPS is seen as an early indicator of increasing business activity.

Analysts said a break in the market’s upward push was overdue. Five straight days of gains have pushed the Dow Jones industrial average above 11,000 and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index above 1,200 for the first time in 18 months.

A second straight week of weak employment numbers also kept stocks in check. The Labor Department said first-time claims for jobless benefits rose by 24,000 to 484,000 last week, the highest level since late February. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast a drop to 440,000.

In midmorning trading, the Dow fell 4.84, or less than 0.1 percent, to 11,118.27. The S&P 500 rose 0.53, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,211.18, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 7.17, or 0.3 percent, to 2,512.03.

Bond prices slipped, pushing yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.88 percent from 3.87 percent late Wednesday.

The dollar rose, and gold fell.

Crude oil rose 11 cents to $35.95 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Federal Reserve said industrial production rose 0.1 percent in March. Despite the continued growth, the number fell short of analysts’ expectations. Economists predicted production at the nations’ factories, mines and utilities would rise 0.7 percent in March.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve said manufacturing in its region has increased. Its index of manufacturing conditions rose to 20.2 from 18.9 in March.

Among stocks in the news, UPS rose $4.12, or 6.3 percent, to $69.57.

Falling stocks narrowly outpaced those that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 216.9 million shares, compared with 227.9 million traded at the same point Wednesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.92, or 0.1 percent, to 723.32.

Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.3 percent, and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.3 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.6 percent.

STEPHEN BERNARD, TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writers NEW YORK