DJIA, Nasdaq, S&P Calm on Mixed Bag of Economic Data

As the springtime earnings season continues to wind down the major indices remained relatively flat, with players seeming treating the mixed bag of economic data in kind.

While jobless claims rose 14,000 to 334,000, consumer spending increased 0.9 percent, well above analyst expectations of 0.6 percent. The anticipated winding down of quantitative easing by the Fed the day prior also didn’t affect markets that much, as it is assumed the stimulus reduction had already been factored in by the market.

The S&P remained completely unchanged, while the Dow saw some whipsaw action and ended the day ever-so-slightly in the red. International Business Machines (IBM) headed up the DJIA’s loss column, shedding 1.5 percent. United Technologies Corp ($UTX), Microsoft (MSFT) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) also dropped on the day.

Healthcare and tech helped edge Nasdaq into the black, notably a strong performance from beleaguered smartphone maker BlackBerry (BBRY) who gained 4.05 percent on heavy trading.

Results for May 1, 2014

• Standard & Poor’s 500: -0.27 percent to 1,883.68 points
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.13 percent to 16,559 points
• NASDAQ Exchange:  +0.30 percent to 4,127 points

Our Top Stories

• The meme-turned-digital-currency dogecoin has enjoyed a lot of popularity as of late, largely thanks to an interesting niche it has found within social media
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• John Mauldin delves into something the children of the Greatest Generation already know: Boomers are working later and later into life. The question is, why?
• Equities.com interviews Rick Rule prior to the annual Metals and Minerals Conference in New York, outlining his thoughts on the market and what investors can expect to take away from the event.
• Contributor Yvan De Munck looks at the rapidly expanding peer-to-peer lending industry.

Stocks

• Embattled student loan provider Sallie Mae (SLM) plunged after spinning off their loan servicing enterprises company.
• Weight Watchers saw tremendous gains after raising their earnings guidance for the remained of 2014.