CSCO Cisco Systems Inc

By Caitlin Ostroff 

U.S. stocks bobbed around the flat line Thursday, putting the market's rally on hold, after a disappointing forecast from Cisco Systems pulled some other technology stocks lower.

Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were mostly flat after closing at records a day earlier. The blue-chip index was up 7 points, or less than 0.1%, to 27790, while the S&P 500 fell less than 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.2%.

Cisco said late Wednesday that it expects to book its first quarterly revenue decline in more than two years. The networking giant, considered a proxy for corporate high-tech hardware demand, blamed lighter customer spending for the lackluster outlook.

Shares of Cisco fell 6%, dropping along with several other technology stocks, including shares of Juniper Networks and F5 Networks, which declined 1.7% and 0.9%, respectively.

Investors also contended with ongoing questions around whether the U.S. and China will reach a trade truce and weak economic data out of China.

China reported disappointing numbers for industrial output, household consumption and fixed-asset investment. The figures added to evidence that the world's second-largest economy is broadly slowing -- as consumer inflation accelerates. The data follows a Wall Street Journal report that trade talks between the U.S. and China have hit a snag over farm purchases.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.2%.

Shares of Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler AG fell 3.4% after it said Thursday that it plans to cut jobs and slash personnel costs to offset expenses required to lower car emissions. Luxury apparel maker Burberry Group shares rose 2.4% after it beat expectations in first-half earnings, adding to the broad rebound in luxury stocks this year.

Asian stocks were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.2% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng waned 0.9% as antigovernment protests snarled the city. Clashes between police and protesters have intensified in recent days. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% following weaker-than-expected third-quarter gross domestic product data, and Korea's Kospi gained 0.8%.

-- Michael Wursthorn contributed to this article.

Write to Caitlin Ostroff at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 14, 2019 10:07 ET (15:07 GMT)

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