US stocks pull-back from record highs as third-quarter results get underway

Major US equity indices retreated from record high levels and traded with a mild negative bias during the opening hour of trade on Thursday. 

Investors digested the first reads of earnings season, kick-started by major banks - JPMorgan and Citigroup, which failed to fuel the optimism that has one of the key factors behind the markets' recent record setting run. 

On the economic data front, initial weekly jobless claims fell to its lowest reading in six weeks, while wholesale inflation, yearly PPI reading, surged to the highest level since February 2012. The data, however, did little to impress the bulls as more crucial reading of inflation will come from the latest CPI print on Friday. 

At the time of reporting, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down around 30-points to 22,840, while the broader S&P 500 Index lost nearly 5-points to 2,550. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped over 6-points to 6,595.

Moving ahead, the Fed Governors Jerome Powell and Lael Brainard, along with ECB President Mario Draghi and former Fed Chief Ben Bernanke's comments during a panel discussion about monetary policy in Washington would now be looked upon for some impetus.