02:02 PM EDT, 04/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell in choppy trading as a deterioration in consumer discretionary and technology offset the strength in communication services ahead of Netflix ( NFLX ) earnings post-bell.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 5,014.8, with the Nasdaq Composite down 0.3% to 15,638.4 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.1% lower at 37,707.1. All three indexes were up earlier in the session as all sectors traded higher.

While Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company ( TSM ) led the mega-cap decliners in technology, Tesla (TSLA) was among the worst-performing giant caps in consumer discretionary. Netflix ( NFLX ), a communication services behemoth, will report Q1 results late on Thursday, and analysts polled by Capital IQ expect $4.54 per share on sales of $9.28 billion.

In economic news, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims remained flat at 212,000 during the week ended April 13, the US Department of Labor said Thursday. The consensus was for 215,000 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The four-week moving average was unchanged, "remaining at the lower end of the range" since claims started to fall in September, Jefferies said in a note. "We now expect that claims are going to continue to trend sideways for the foreseeable future."

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's monthly manufacturing index rose to 15.5 in April after slipping to 3.2 in March, compared with expectations for a drop to 2 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The pace of US existing home sales declined 4.3% to a 4.19 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in March from 4.38 million in February, data from the National Association of Realtors showed. The expectation in a survey compiled by Bloomberg was for 4.2 million. Sales fell 3.7% from a year earlier.

The US 10-year yield jumped 5.82 basis points to 4.64%. A 5.4 basis-point increase in the two-year Treasury pushed the yield to 4.99%.

In company news, Genuine Parts ( GPC ) shares surged more than 12% intraday, the top performer on the S&P 500, after the company reported higher year-over-year adjusted earnings and net sales.

Equifax's ( EFX ) shares slumped 8.6% intraday, the second-worst performer on the S&P 500, after Q1 sales missed expectations and the company's full-year forecast also lagged consensus.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.3% at $82.94 a barrel.

Gold was up 0.5% to $2,399.3 per ounce, while silver was down 0.2% to $28.35.