The Dow Jones Industrial Average sunk back into the red in afternoon trading after spending part of the day in positive territory. April's durable goods orders slightly beat expectations, but investors still didn't seem terribly impressed. Claims for jobless benefits were essentially flat from the week prior, while manufacturing and services activity in Europe continued to contract. There was also disappointing news out of China, as data showed that manufacturing in China shrank for the seventh month in a row. Investors will be watching the Chinese government's response after it pledged to initiate a new round of pro-growth policies.
Individually, Caterpillar and Boeing, two stocks with exposure to China, are some of the bigger losers so far on the day. Hewlett-Packard, on the other hand, is the Dow's biggest winner so far after reporting earnings that beat expectations and announcing that it will lay off 8% of its workforce, which investors hoped would provide cost savings and help drive organic growth.
Outside the Dow, Facebook looks on its way to another positive day, after finishing yesterday up over 3%. Still, with a share price now between $32-$33, the social networking giant has a long way to go to get back to its $38 IPO price. Check out the video below for more on what's driving the markets today.
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