S&P 500 Win Streak Comes To An End

NEW YORK - Health care and energy companies led U.S. stocks lower Thursday, ending a three-day winning streak for the S&P 500 and giving the benchmark index only its fourth loss this month.

The modest sell-off came as investors weighed mixed economic data and earnings reports while keeping an eye on Washington, where U.S. and Chinese negotiators resumed talks aimed at ending their costly trade dispute.

Some of the selling may have been driven by traders electing to take some profits following a big rebound in recent weeks, said Erik Wytenus, global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.

"Markets need a little bit of an opportunity to breathe," he said. "We definitely have seen some market participants lightening up some risk, given the size of that bounce back, because any way you slice it, we're late in the (economic) cycle."

Jan. home sales fell by 1.2%

WASHINGTON - U.S. home sales fell 1.2 percent in January to their worst pace in more than three years, as persistent affordability problems have put a harsh chill in the real estate market.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales of existing homes declined 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million last month, the slowest sales rate since November 2015.

During the past 12 months, sales have plunged 8.5 percent. Would-be buyers are increasingly priced out of the market as years of climbing prices and strained inventories have made ownership too costly.

On a monthly basis, home sales fell in the Midwest, South and West. Sales increased in the Northeast.

Report: Flight fatalities tick up

BERLIN - A leading airline trade group says fatal commercial flight accidents increased in 2018 from a record low set in 2017.

The International Air Transport Association said Thursday 523 passengers and crew died in 11 fatal accidents last year, compared with 19 deaths in six fatal accidents in 2017.

The accident rate in 2018 was 1.35 accidents per million flights, better than the average 1.79 from 2013-2017 but higher than 1.11 in 2017.

IATA says 4.3 billion passengers flew safely on 46.1 million flights in 2018, adding "flying is safe and the data tell us that it is getting safer."

"Based on the data, on average a passenger could take a flight every day for 241 years before experiencing an accident with one fatality."

Maersk frets over tariffs risk

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Shares in the world's biggest shipping company, A.P. Moller-Maersk, plunged Thursday after it warned of the commercial damage it would suffer from a U.S. escalation in the trade war with China.

The company reported a fourth quarter loss of $34 million, from a $32 million profit a year earlier. Revenue increased to $10.2 billion from $8.4 billion. For all of 2018, revenue rose 26 percent to $8.1 billion.

Maersk is the largest shipping line at the Port of Charleston. It said it was helped last year by higher freight rates, greater efficiency in its operations, and synergies from the 2017 acquisition of German container shipping company Hamburg Sud.

However, it said its guidance for 2019 was "subject to considerable uncertainties due to the current risk of further restrictions on global trade and other factors impacting container freight rates, bunker prices and foreign exchange rates."

The group said trade tensions between the United States and China had created uncertainty and could "reduce global container trade growth by 0.3-1.0 percentage points per year in 2019-2020 if U.S. tariffs are increased to 25 percent in March 2019."

CEO Soeren Skou said that while group revenue had increased, "profitability needs to improve."

Jobless aid requests fall by 23K

WASHINGTON - Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, a sign that layoffs declined and hiring is likely strong.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000, a very low level by historical standards. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose to 235,750.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs, since people cannot claim benefits unless they lose a job through no fault of their own. Businesses are hiring at healthy levels and posted the most open jobs in nearly two decades in December. With demand for workers strong, companies are holding onto their staffs.

Other economic reports have suggested growth may be slowing this year. Manufacturing output and retail sales have both fallen in the past two months. Still, consumer optimism has bounced back, according to some measures, after falling sharply in the wake of the 35-day partial government shutdown. That could revive spending going forward.

The economy expanded at a 3.8 percent annual rate last summer and fall. But analysts forecast growth weakened in the final three months of last year, to roughly 2 percent to 2.5 percent. The report on fourth-quarter growth was delayed by the government shutdown and is scheduled to be released next week.

Growth has likely slowed further in the first three months of this year, economists expect, with some projecting it to be as slow as 1.5 percent to 2 percent at an annual rate.

US mortgage rates fell this week

WASHINGTON - U.S. long-term mortgage rates dipped this week to the lowest average in more than a year, providing a possible boost to the start of the spring home-buying season in March.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate on the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage declined to 4.35 percent from 4.37 percent last week. The key 30-year home borrowing rate averaged 4.40 percent a year ago. This week was the lowest average since the week of February 8, 2018.

The average rate this week for 15-year, fixed-rate loans declined to 3.78 percent from 3.81 percent.

Aetna to expand in NC, add jobs

HIGH POINT, N.C. - Aetna says it plans to expand its space in a North Carolina city and add 300 new jobs by the end of next year. Gov. Roy Cooper announced the move during an event Thursday in High Point.

Aetna says it plans to expand its 126,000-square-foot space that it currently leases by adding 16,000 more square feet, using the new space for clinical care management and customer service positions.

The company will invest approximately $2.5 million in building upgrades and equipment. Aetna also added 80 full-time-equivalent jobs last year.

Aetna will not receive any local or state economic incentives for the expansion.

NY rethinks subsidies after Amazon flop

ALBANY, N.Y. - Some New York lawmakers are proposing a ban on subsidies for particular companies in the wake of Amazon's decision not to build a new campus in Queens.

State Assemblyman Ron Kim and Sen. Julia Salazar on Wednesday proposed legislation that would stop the state from awarding company-specific subsidies and instead treat all companies the same when it comes to economic incentives.

The two New York City Democrats say big subsidies to wealthy companies reduce available funds for education, housing and transportation.

The bill would also ask other states to join New York in banning company-specific subsidies to ensure states that do so aren't put at a competitive disadvantage.

Amazon announced last week that it was dropping its Long Island City project, which was set to receive billions in state and New York City incentives.

Durable goods orders up 1.2%

WASHINGTON - Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods posted a 1.2 percent advance in December, the best showing in four months, but much of the strength came from a surge in orders for commercial aircraft. In a worrisome development, a key category that tracks business investment fell for a second straight month.

The Commerce Department says the December advance in orders for durable goods followed a 1 percent rise in November which was revised up from an initial reading of 0.7 percent.

But orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched category used as a proxy for business investment plans, fell 0.7 percent in December after a 1 percent drop in November. The strength in the overall number came from a 28.4 percent jump in commercial aircraft orders.

Commodities giant to cap coal output

BERLIN - Commodities giant Glencore says it will cap how much coal it mines amid shareholder pressure to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

The Switzerland-based company said Wednesday that after consulting with investors "we are furthering our commitment to the transition to a low-carbon economy."

Burning coal for heat and electricity is a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to man-made global warming.

Glencore said it will prioritize future investments to increase production of commodities "essential to the energy and mobility transition and to limit our coal production capacity broadly to current levels."

The move is a sharp reversal for a company that has long championed the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, and which recently announced the purchase of further stakes in two Australian coal mines.