In Thursday trading, U.S. stock market indexes closed in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 53.36 points or 0.2% to 22,359.23. The Standard & Poor´s 500 index slipped 7.4 points to 2,500.87 and the Nasdaq Composite index declined 35 points to 6,420.
Shares of McDonald's Corp. (MCD, Financial) traded 0.53% lower. The board of directors approved its 41st consecutive dividend hike. The company raised the dividend 7% to $1.01 per share form the previous dividend of 94 cents. The dividend is payable on Dec. 15 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 1. The annual dividend is now $4.04, yielding 2.54% based on today´s closing price.
Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN, Financial) was up 0.26% and is trading higher after hours on the back of a dividend hike. The semiconductor manufacturer increased its dividend to 62 cents per share from 50 cents, representing a 24% increase. The dividend will be payable on Nov. 1 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 31. Moreover, the company added $6 billion to its buyback program of $4.6 billion. The new anual dividend will be $2.48, yielding 2.88%.
In other news, shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL, Financial) fell and ended lower due to Apple Watch connectivity issues, soft iPhone 8 pre-order estimates and rumors the production of the new iPhone X is delayed.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.