US stocks mostly lower as market pauses after Fed rally

Trader Gregory Rowe, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013. Stocks edged lower in early trading Thursday, pulling back from record levels. AP

NEW YORK—US stocks Thursday closed mostly lower a day after a record-setting surge spurred by the Federal Reserve easing stimulus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 11.11 points (0.07 percent) to 16,179.08, a new record.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 1.05 (0.06 percent) to 1,809.60, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 11.93 (0.29 percent) to 4,058.13.

Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management, said stocks sometimes retreat by much greater margins the day after a big rally. On Wednesday, the Dow rose nearly 2 percent.

“The market did pretty well,” Blicksilver said.

“I don’t know that there are any more gains for this year,” Blicksilver said. “But if they could park this market sideways between now and December 31st, I think everyone would be ecstatic.”

Retail giant Target fell 2.2 percent after disclosing that it suffered a security breach in which some 40 million credit and debt card accounts may have been affected. The company said it is “working closely with law enforcement and financial institutions, and has identified and resolved the issue.”

Consultancy Accenture rose 5.1 percent after earnings bested expectations by six cents at $1.15 per share. The company also boosted its full-year profit forecast on expectations of higher sales.

Darden Restaurants fell 3.6 percent after earnings sank 41 percent to $19.8 million. The company trimmed its 2014 sales forecast for its Red Lobster, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse chains. The company also announced plans to cut spending and separate its Red Lobster business, potentially in a tax-free spinoff.

Information technology giant Oracle powered 5.8 percent higher after earnings came in two cents above expectations at 71 cents per share.

Facebook shares dropped 0.9 percent after the company announced a stock offering of 70 million shares. The stock sales include 27 million shares from Facebook and 41.4 million shares from chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.

Carnival jumped 2.5 percent after reporting earnings of four cents per share, above the forecast for a break-even performance. The company expects net 2014 revenues to be “down slightly” compared with the prior year.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.93 percent from 2.89 percent Wednesday, while the 30-year fell to 3.90 percent from 3.91 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.