US stock indexes tread water; bond yields climb
NEW YORK — Railroad stocks chugged higher Thursday, but drops for utilities and other companies that pay big dividends meant U.S. stock indexes dipped modestly. Treasury yields continued their upward march.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 5 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,267 as of 11:15 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 50 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 19,755. The Nasdaq composite index fell 10 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 5,546. Indexes have been trading in a tight range: The S&P 500 bounced around the flat line Thursday and has yet to close up or down by more than 0.4 per cent for over two weeks.
Three stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.
RAIL RALLY: Railroad operators posted some of the biggest gains. CSX led the way with a jump of $6.47, or 17.5 per cent, to $43.35. An activist investor is reportedly teaming up with the executive who turned around Canadian Pacific Railway to target CSX.