U.S. stocks were modestly lower on Thursday, weighed down by a drop in healthcare and consumer names, while financials advanced slightly after two more Federal Reserve officials pushed the case for a rate hike.
Healthcare stocks .SPXHC, down 0.8 percent, came under pressure for a second straight day. St. Jude Medical (STJ.N) shares fell 5 percent after short-selling firm Muddy Waters said it bet that the shares would fall because of cyber security vulnerabilities in the company's cardiac devices.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 33.07 points, or 0.18 percent, to 18,448.41, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 2.97 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,172.47 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 5.49 points, or 0.11 percent, to 5,212.20.
Asian stocks fell, led by shares in Japan, as investors showed a reluctance to take on risk before Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s speech later Friday.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.3 percent to 138.50 as of 9:10 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge is set for its second week of declines, its longest weekly losing streak since June.
Reference: Reuters, Bloomberg
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