STOCKS DO NOTHING: Here's what you need to know
All three major indices ticked up in the morning, fell back in the early afternoon, and ultimately closed basically where they started.
First up, the scoreboard:
- Dow: 20,662.68, +1.38, (+0.01%)
- S&P 500: 2,344.09, -4.15, (-0.17%)
- Nasdaq: 5,811.52, -10.05, (-0.17%)
- US 10-year yield: 2.418, +0.022
- WTI Crude: $47.75, -0.29, -0.60%
1. The Republican effort to overhaul the US healthcare system faces its biggest test yet Thursday. Members of the House of Representatives are expected to vote on the American Health Care Act. Despite a push from President Donald Trump and administration officials, Republicans from both the conservative and moderate wings of the party have come out against the bill.
2. Obama defends Obamacare. "So the reality is clear: America is stronger because of the Affordable Care Act," the former president said in a statement released on the seventh anniversary of the Affordable Care Act.
3. Initial jobless claims rose above 250,000 for the first time in eight weeks. Claims, which count the number of people who applied for unemployment insurance for the first time in the past week, rose by 15,000 to 258,000.
4. One of the biggest hedge fund launches of all time is shutting down. Eton Park Capital Management is shutting down. In a letter sent to investors earlier on Thursday, founder Eric Mindich wrote that he plans to return 40% of all investors' capital by the end of April, and that the fund's other investments would take longer to unwind over the "coming months," with some investments taking even longer.
5. Ford guidance disappointed. Shares of Ford Motor are down 1.5% at $11.59 Thursday morning after the automaker reported it expects adjusted first-quarter earnings of $0.30 to $0.35 per share, well below the $0.47 that is expected by the Bloomberg consensus.
6. Bitcoin spikes above $1,000. Bitcoin was trading up 1.2% at $1,049 a coin as of 7:37 a.m. ET after aggressive selling on Wednesday slammed the cryptocurrency below the $1,000 level for just the second time since the beginning of February.
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