Stocks slipped lower Thursday, breaking a three-day winning streak for the S&P 500 Index, as market participants reacted to the latest fourth-quarter earnings reports and lackluster retail sales data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped over 60 points lower, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lost about 0.2% and 0.9%, respectively.

Here's how the market settled on Thursday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -0.21% or -12.57 points to 5,937.34

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -0.16% or -68.42 points to 43,153.13

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -0.89% or -172.94 points to 19,338.29

Moving Markets:

U.S. Retail Sales rose at a less-than-expected rate of 0.4% in December, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, coming in below November's upwardly revised gain of 0.8%. However, excluding auto sales, retail sales rose in-line with expectations at a rate of 0.4%.

Beneath the headline, miscellaneous store retailers led gains, rising 4.3%, while sporting goods, musical and books stores saw a 2.6% increase. Leading decliners included building material and garden stores, falling 2%, while bars and restaurants ticked 0.3% lower.

On the Earnings Front:

Bank of America (BAC  ) reported strong fourth-quarter profit and revenue Thursday, benefitting from better-than-expected investment banking and interest income. During the quarter investment banking jumped 44% to $1.65 billion, topping analyst expectations by about $180 million.

"Every source of revenue increased [in the fourth-quarter], and we saw better than industry growth in deposits and loans. We also ended with strong capital and liquidity, enabling us to return $21 billion of capital to shareholders in 2024," CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement. "We believe this broad momentum sets up 2025 very well for Bank of America."

Morgan Stanley (MS  ) also topped analyst expectations in its fourth-quarter, driven by the firm's equities trading business seeing revenue increase by 51% to $3.3 billion -- roughly $650 million ahead of consensus estimates. Elsewhere, its wealth management segment also saw its revenue rise by 13% to $7.48 billion from increasing assets and fees.

CEO Ted Pick told analysts during the company's earnings call with analysts that "values in the M&A pipelines are the highest in seven years," which is "really encouraging," heading into 2025.

"Some of this will be dependent on how things roll out in the first couple months of the incoming administration, and how things feel on a cross border basis, but the pent-up activity that we're seeing is starting to release," he added.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH  ) reported disappointing fourth-quarter revenue on Thursday as higher-than-expected annual medical costs impacted its bottom line. The health insurance giant's annual medical cost ratio rose to 85.5%, compared with 83.2% in 2023; companies look for a ratio closer to 80%. UnitedHealth reaffirmed its 2025 adjusted profit forecast provided in December, expecting a range of $29.50 to $30.00 per share.

"The people of UnitedHealth Group remain focused on making high-quality, affordable health care more available to more people while making the health system easier to navigate for patients and providers, positioning us well for growth in 2025," said CEO Andrew Witty in a statement.

In the News:

Target (TGT  ) raised its fourth-quarter sales forecast on Thursday, as the retailer saw increased holiday traffic across its brick-and-mortar and ecommerce channels, especially during discount shopping events. The company now expects comparable sales to grow by about 1.5%, compared with its previous forecast for sales to be flat.

"Growth rebounded strongly in December from a misleadingly weaker November as the result of the final two days of the busy Thanksgiving holiday weekend being included in December's data," said Matthew Shay, president and chief financial officer at the National Retail Federation, in a statement this week. "Calendar issues aside, value-conscious customers showed enthusiasm for celebrating loved ones with the right gifts at the right price points for their budgets in December. Households are in good financial shape amid low unemployment, growing income and continued deceleration of inflation for goods."

Target also expects fourth-quarter earnings per share to range from $1.85 to $2.45 and full-year earnings per share between $8.30 and $8.90.

For Friday:

Market participants will turn their attention towards housing data for December, alongside earnings reports from companies including State Street (STT  ), Truist Financial (TFC  ) and Citizens Financial Group (CFG  ).