An early gain on Wall Street evaporated by mid-morning Thursday, despite better economic news, according to AP. Miners and other materials companies rose in early trading after news that China's trade rebounded in July, signaling the end of a six-month slowdown for the world's second-largest economy. Also, the U.S. government reported that a measure of unemployment sank to its lowest level in more than five years. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down two points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,689. Telecommunications stocks slumped 1 percent, the most of the 10 industry sectors in the index. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 47 points, or 0.3 percent, at 15,424. The 30-stock average had jumped as much as 86 points in the first hour of trading. The Nasdaq composite was down a point, or 0.02 percent, to 3,653. The electric carmaker Tesla Motors jumped 14 percent in early trading, following news that it paid off a loan from the Department of Energy nine years early and blew past Wall Street's estimates for its most recent quarter. Revenue soared thanks to stronger sales of its Model S. Tesla's stock gained $18.52 to $152.89. Mondelez International, the maker of Oreo cookies, turned in better quarterly results than Wall Street had expected late Wednesday. The company also announced plans to spend another $5 billion on buying its own stock. Mondelez International gained $1.21, or 4 percent, to $32.47. In economic news, the government reported that the average number of people who applied for unemployment benefits over the past four weeks dropped 6,250 to 335,500. That's the lowest level since November 2007, a month before the Great Recession got underway. Gradual but steady gains for the U.S. economy and corporate profits have lifted the stock market to record territory this year. The S&P 500 index closed at an all-time high of 1,709.67 on Friday and has surged 18.9 percent this year. In other Thursday trading, crude oil fell 62 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $103.74 a barrel, while gold rose 6.40, or 0.5 percent, to $1,291.70 an ounce. Copper surged 9 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $3.26 a pound. The economic reports nudged U.S. government debt prices slightly higher and yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was trading at 2.59 percent, down from 2.60 percent late Wednesday.
