Sina U. S. stocks Beijing time in the early morning of the 20th, U. S. stocks closed mixed on Thursday, the Dow and the S & P 500 index closed slightly higher, but both set an all-time high closing record. The news that Apple Inc's iPhone order had halved led to a fall in share prices, dragging down technology stocks.

The Dow rose 5.44 points, or 0.02 percent, to 23163.04, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.84 points, or 0.03 percent, to 2562.10, and the Nasdaq fell 19.15 points, or 0.29 percent, to 6605.07.

The Dow and the S & P 500 hit new record highs

U.S. stocks closed mixed on Thursday, with the Dow and the S & P 500 closing slightly higher, but both set an all-time high.

Yesterday, all three major indexes of US stocks closed at an all-time high, with the Dow rising 160.16 points, or 0.7%, to close at 23157.60, breaking through the 23000-point mark for the first time in history. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.90 points, or 0.1%, to close at 2561.26. The Nasdaq rose 0.56 points, or 0.01%, to close at 6624.22.

What is the market driving force?

Carles Puigdemont, the president of Catalonia, did not obey the order to abandon the region's independence demands. The Madrid government responded by launching a process for central control of the region at a special cabinet meeting on Saturday. The suspension of Catalonia's autonomy could spark new protests and unrest in one of the eurozone's largest member states.

In addition, on Thursday, October 19, the 30th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash, some investors openly expressed concern about the huge gains in US stocks since the November 2016 presidential election. these include concerns about the political situation in the United States, geopolitical relations and the overvaluation of US stocks.

Many believe that US stocks will continue to climb on the hope that President Donald Trump's administration will be able to complete its tax reform plan. Us stocks could be hit hard if the tax reform plan is not implemented quickly, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned in a recent interview with the Politico.

Focus unit

Corporate earnings were also an important factor affecting U. S. stocks on Thursday. Shares of Philip Morris International Inc Co. (PM) fell as the company reported adjusted earnings and sales that fell short of market expectations.

Shares of insurer Travelers (TRV) fell, even as the company reported earnings and revenue that beat market expectations.

Verizon Communications Inc Communications (VZ) climbed as the company announced third-quarter results generally beat analysts' expectations and confirmed guidance for 2017.

Shares of eBay (EBAY) tumbled as the online retailer cut its full-year profit forecast for the second consecutive quarter.

Apart from eBay, technology stocks such as Apple Inc (AAPL), NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) and Netflix (NFLX) generally fell.

Apple Inc shares fell 2.4 per cent on news of cuts in iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus orders. Earlier today, it was reported that Apple Inc had slashed iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus orders in November and December. Of this total, iPhone 8 shipments fell from a monthly peak of 10 million to 12 million to 5 million to 6 million.

AA (Alcoa) fell after the company announced a lower-than-expected profit.

Shares of United Continental Airlines (UAL) fell, even as the airline reported better-than-expected earnings.

Shares of American Express Co (AXP) fell. The company announced better-than-expected earnings and raised its performance forecast. The company also announced that its current vice chairman, Stephen Squeri, will become CEO and chairman of the company from February 1.

PayPal Holdings Inc Holdings (PYPL) will announce its results after Thursday's close.

What do the market participants say?

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at IG, said: "it seems to me that the political gridlock in Catalonia led to a fall in global stock markets because Asian markets were relatively calm and markets began to fall after European stocks started trading. But for the raging U. S. stocks, the Catalan crisis will not frighten U. S. stock investors. "

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said: "I think after a slow and long rally in US stocks, we will see a small correction caused by profit-taking. Expectations for the earnings season are quite high, so apart from unforeseen shocks, I don't think this (profit-taking) will cause much decline in US stocks. "

Thursday's economic data

The Labor Department announced that first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell by 22000 last week, bringing the total to 222000, the lowest level since March 1973. The four-week moving average of first-time jobless claims fell by 9500 to a total of 248250.

How are other asset markets performing?

European stock markets fell. The FTSE pan-European merit 300 index closed down 0.65% at 1529.89. Europe's STOXX 600 index closed down 0.7 per cent, while the eurozone blue-chip superior STOXX 50 index closed down 0.6 per cent. Germany's DAX 30 index closed 0.5 per cent lower. France's CAC 40 index closed down 0.4 per cent. Britain's FTSE 100 index closed down 0.3%. Spain's IBEX 35 index closed down 0.8 per cent.

In Asian markets, the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed down 1.9% on Thursday, led by declines in real estate, banking and technology sectors.

Gold futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $7, or 0.6%, to close at $1290 an ounce. Exchange-traded SPDR gold trust (GLD) rose 0.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, silver futures for December delivery rose 25.8 cents, or 1.5%, to close at $17.255 an ounce. Exchange-traded iShares silver trust (SLV) rose 1.4 per cent.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November delivery fell 75 cents, or 1.4%, to $51.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the first decline in five trading days.

London-based Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE) Brent crude for December delivery fell 92 cents, or 1.6%, to close at $57.23 a barrel. (Zhang Jun)