The Hunt for the Next 10 Bagger

[RULiquid]

U.S. stocks fall as investors seek Treasurys, gold
Another drop in jobless claims has fleeting impact on stocks
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The U.S. stock market ended Thursday’s session with modest losses, as investors moved out of riskier assets and into gold and U.S. Treasurys.

The drop in stocks, while relatively modest, was global, with Asian and European markets also losing ground.

Key benchmarks hit the day’s lows late in the session. The S&P 500 (SNC:SPX) fell 10.67 points, or 0.6%, to 1,909.57. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI:DJIA) dropped 75.07 points, or 0.5%, to 16,368.27.

The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ:COMP) fell 20.08 points, or 0.5%, at 4,334.97.

In economic news, the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits fell below 300,000 for the second time in three weeks, solidifying a picture of an improving U.S. labor market. Better-than-expected data briefly pushed stocks higher, but gains soon dissipated.

Instead, investors pushed up prices of Treasurys and gold. The yield on a 10-year Treasury note, which falls when prices rise, fell to the lowest level in more than a year, at 2.42%, while gold settled above $1,300 for the second session in a row.

The S&P 500 is now down 4% from its peak, hit by fears that the stronger economy could push the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected as well as escalating tensions surrounding Ukraine. On Thursday, Russia banned food imports from the U.S., members of the European Union and other countries in retaliation over sanctions.

“This market got complacent and ahead of itself a few weeks ago, was overbought on technical levels. So the selloff last week was not surprising,” said Paul Zemsky, chief investment officer of multi-asset strategies at Voya Investment Management. “There is nothing in our indicators that signals a larger 10%-15% correction. However, we think the S&P 500 will fall to 1,900 before continuing to march higher.” http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-futures-up-ahead-of-ecb-jobless-claims-2014-08-07