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Crypto stocks jump after bitcoin crosses $100,000

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American Airlines ( AAL ) up after raising Q4 adjusted earnings

forecast

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SentinelOne ( S ) plunges after missing Q3 profit estimates

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Indexes: Dow down 0.13%, S&P 500 off 0.04%, Nasdaq up

0.05%

(Updates at market open)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Purvi Agarwal

Dec 5 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were mostly flat on Thursday

after recording all-time closing highs in the previous session,

though the Nasdaq inched up to an intraday record high ahead of

employment data later this week.

Markets are focused on the crucial monthly jobs report,

which is scheduled for release on Friday.

On the day, data showed the number of Americans filing new

applications for unemployment benefits increased moderately last

week, suggesting that the labor market continued to cool.

"Sentiment is obviously a little restrained. The

question remains if the Fed is going to be able to follow

through with a series of rate cuts given that we've seen a

bounce in inflation and hiring data, et cetera, all improving to

a certain extent," said Michael Green, portfolio manager and

chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management.

At 9:41 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 60.71 points, or 0.13%, to 44,953.33, the S&P 500

lost 2.20 points, or 0.04%, to 6,084.29 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 10.66 points, or 0.05%, to 19,745.78.

Most megacap and growth stocks were marginally higher.

However, Tesla outperformed with a 2.5% gain after at

least two brokerages lifted their price target on the electric

vehicle maker's stock.

Cryptocurrency- and blockchain-related stocks jumped after

bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, stormed

above the $100,000 mark for the first time.

Exchange operator Coinbase Global ( COIN ) rose 4.4%, miner

MARA Holdings ( MARA ) added 6.1% and MicroStrategy ( MSTR ),

the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, advanced 8%.

The S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow

clocked record closing highs on Wednesday as technology shares

rallied after upbeat results from companies including Salesforce ( CRM )

and Marvell Technology ( MRVL ).

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appeared to signal

support for a slower pace of interest-rate cuts ahead when he

spoke on Wednesday, saying the economy was stronger at this

point than the central bank had expected in September. San

Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said there was "no sense of

urgency" on reducing borrowing costs further.

Comments from Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin are due

later in the day.

Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) gained 4.5% as the carrier raised

its forecast for fourth-quarter revenue per available seat

miles, while American Airlines ( AAL ) added 10.6% after lifting

its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings forecast.

Gains in the airlines pushed the Dow Jones Transport

Average Index 0.4% higher.

SentinelOne ( S ) dropped 9% after the cybersecurity firm

missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit.

Synopsys ( SNPS ) fell 6.6% after the chip design software

firm forecast fiscal 2025 revenue below Wall Street

expectations, in part due to a slump in China sales.

Ford was off 2.5% after Wolfe Research downgraded the

automaker's stock to "underperform" from "peer perform".

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.06-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.15-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 23 new 52-week highs and one new low,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 68 new highs and 31 new

lows.