US stocks struggled on Thursday as an attempt by technology companies to rebound from this week's sharp losses was outweighed by a batch of weak results and Brexit-related concerns. Department store operator J.C. Penney Co Inc lowered its sales outlook ahead of the holiday shopping season. However the shares reversed course to trade up 4.9 percent after new Chief Executive Officer Jill Soltau gave the first indications of her plans to turn a profit.
Dillard's Inc fell 13.7 percent after reporting third-quarter results. Shares in the world's largest retailer Walmart Inc, which was up earlier after beating quarterly comparable sales estimates and raising full-year outlook, gave up gains to trade down 1.5 percent. The results pulled down the broader group, sending the S&P 500 retailing index 1.5 percent lower, despite economic data that showed US retail sales rebounded sharply in October.
Political events in Europe also scared investors after a series of resignations in British Prime Minister Theresa May's government threw into doubt her long-awaited Brexit deal and reports of anti-euro comments from an Italian official. "Market's choosing not to pick and spare (retail) numbers and most of the retailers are looking forward to the holiday season," said Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane Investments, New Vernon, New Jersey.
Markets earlier got some relief following news that China had delivered a written response to US trade demands ahead of an expected meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of the month. At 11:36 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 74.90 points, or 0.30 percent, at 25,005.60, the S&P 500 was up 0.35 points, or 0.01 percent, at 2,701.93 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 30.66 points, or 0.43 percent, at 7,167.05.
Cisco Systems Inc rose 3.7 percent after the network gear maker reported better-than-expected quarterly results, benefiting from demand for its routers and switches. Apple Inc jumped 1.9 percent after five days of losses, helping the S&P technology index gain 1.2 percent.
Facebook Inc dropped 1.7 percent after the New York Times reported on how its executives ignored and then sought to conceal signs that the social media giant could be exploited to disrupt elections and broadcast viral propaganda. Amazon.com Inc fell 1.3 percent, pulling the S&P consumer discretionary index down 1.4 percent.