Major US stock indexes showed little change

Major US stock indexes finished trading around as investors on their guard against the latest protectionist decisions President Donald Trump. In recent weeks, Trump's priorities, such as the imposition of travel restrictions to the United States and out of the trade agreement, have caused uncertainty and made them unpredictable for investors.

As it became known today, the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, pointing to a tightening of labor market conditions, which should support the economy this year. Primary applications for state unemployment benefits fell by 14,000 and amounted to a seasonally adjusted 246,000 for the week ending January 28, reported Thursday the Ministry of Labour.

However, the report published by Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc, showed that the number of job cuts in the USA in January was 45,934 compared to 33,627 in December. However, compared with the same period of 2016, the number of job cuts decreased significantly (then figure was 75,114).

DOW index components closed mostly in the red (17 of 30). Most remaining shares fell Caterpillar Inc. (CAT, -1.46%). leaders of growth were shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK, + 3.19%).

Sector S & P index finished the session mixed. The leader turned utilities sector (+ 0.8%). the health sector fell the most (-0.7%).

At the close:

Dow -0.03% 19,884.98 -5.96

Nasdaq -0.11% 5,636.20 -6.45

S & P + 0.06% 2,280.85 +1.30