XOM Exxon Mobil Corp

By Anora Mahmudova and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

CSX shares on track for best daily rise in 36 years

U.S. stocks edged lower Thursday as investors grappled with dovish comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, solid economic data and mixed earnings.

Draghi said there was "no convincing upward trend in underlying inflation" adding the central bank was ready to expand its quantitative-easing program if needed. His comments pushed the euro and the yen lower against the dollar. Earlier, The European Central Bank, as expected, left interest rates unchanged Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ecb-leaves-rates-unchanged-draghi-up-next-2017-01-19).

ECB news conference recap: Mario Draghi maintains dovish course (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2017/01/19/ecb-live-blog-mario-draghi-expected-to-maintain-dovish-course/)

Investors were also watching the confirmation hearing of Steven Mnuchin (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/2017/01/19/live-blog-and-video-of-steven-mnuchins-treasury-secretary-confirmation-hearing/)for the post of Treasury Secretary.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off by 35 points, or 0.2% at 19,768. If it closes lower, it will mark the fifth drop in a row for the blue-chip index. The equity gauge was dragged lower by a 1.6% decline in the Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and a 1% drop in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(GS)

The S&P 500 index fell 3 points, or 0.2% to 2,2768, but not far from its all-time high set two weeks ago. Real estate and energy shares were leading losses, down about 0.7%.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 5 points, or 0.1%, to 5,550, and was only 20 points shy of its record close.

"People are watching Mnuchin's confirmation hearing hoping for any clarity about the dollar policy and other reforms, such as taxes and regulation. What he says about the strength of the dollar is important, since we have been getting conflicting messages from President-elect Trump," said Ian Winer, director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities.

Read:Trump is waving adios to longstanding 'strong dollar policy' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-is-waving-adios-to-the-longstanding-strong-dollar-policy-2017-01-17)

In economic news, first-time weekly jobless claim fell by more than expected, signaling continued strength in the labor market. Weekly jobless claims dropped by 15,000 to 234,000, highlighting the continued low levels of layoffs. Separately, housing starts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/housing-starts-surge-in-december-to-second-highest-pace-of-recovery-2017-01-19) ran at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.23 million in December, 11.3% higher than in November but about flat compared with the year-ago rate.

Meanwhile, The Philly manufacturing index unexpectedly rose in January.

"The postelection enthusiasm continues in the sentiment figures. All we need now is to see to what extent of increased business activity this translates into," wrote Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group LLC in emailed notes.

Read: How the Trump rally stacks up to other postelection jumps (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-the-trump-rally-stacks-up-to-other-postelection-stock-market-gains-2017-01-18)

Individual movers: Shares in Netflix Inc.(NFLX) rallied 5.4% after the streaming video giant posted better-than-expected quarterly results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflix-shares-pop-after-reporting-improved-earnings-subscriber-growth-2017-01-18) late Wednesday. Netflix added 7.05 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, roughly double the 3.57 million it gained in the third quarter.

And read:My dad talked me out of buying Netflix, but he wasn't wrong (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/my-dad-talked-me-out-of-the-decades-best-investment-but-he-wasnt-wrong-2017-01-18)

CSX Corp.(CSX) soared 16%, and was on track for its best daily rise in 36 years, following news that railroad-industry veteran Hunter Harrison is teaming with an activist investor (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/canadian-pacific-ceo-hunter-harrison-steps-down-early-to-pursue-csx-2017-01-18) in a bid to shake up CSX's management.

Another railroad operator, Union Pacific Corp.(UNP) shares surged 5% after earnings. American Express Co.(AXP) and IBM(IBM) are due to report after the close.

Shares of Navient Crop(NAVI) slumped 2.8% after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit against the nation's largest student loan servicer, accusing the company of mistreating borrowers.

Economic news: Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen is due to give a speech at 8 p.m. Eastern at Stanford University, covering the economic outlook and monetary policy. On Wednesday, she said she expects rates to rise a few times a year (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-yellen-says-she-expects-rates-to-rise-a-few-times-a-year-until-end-of-2019-2017-01-18) until the end of 2019.

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Other markets: Crude-oil futures traded higher, as the International Energy Agency warned OPEC's cuts could backfire (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/opec-faces-headwinds-from-rivals-as-prices-rise-after-output-cut-iea-warns-2017-01-19) as rivals step into the gap. European stocks were lower, while Asian markets closed mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-hold-steady-nikkei-rises-despite-toshibas-dive-2017-01-18). Gold futures traded lower. 10-year Treasury yields rose to 2.47% and a key dollar index rose to 101.52.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 19, 2017 11:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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