US close: Stocks mixed as investors weigh data, Powell comments

US stocks finished mixed on Wednesday and were rangebound for most of the session as investors continued to pour over economic data and assess its impact on monetary policy.

The Dow finished 0.1% lower, while the S&P 500 gained 0.1% and the Nasdaq rose 0.2%, with little separating the benchmark's intraday highs and lows.

Comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell were dominating newsflow in afternoon trade, after he downplayed concerns that a recent pick-up in economic activity has changed the Fed's inflation outlook.

“The recent data do not [...] materially change the overall picture, which continues to be one of solid growth, a strong but rebalancing labor market, and inflation moving down to 2% on a sometimes bumpy path,” Powell said.

Data released during the session showed that expansion in the American services sector slowed to a three-month low. The ISM's non-manufacturing PMI declined to 51.4 in March from 52.6 in February, surprising economists who pencilled in an increase to 52.7. The lesser-followed S&P Global US services PMI meanwhile was unchanged at 51.7.

“Taken together, the data is relatively weak despite still showing modest signs of growth," said Ryan Brandham, head of global capital markets, North America at Validus Risk Management. "It will be interesting to see if this will offset the market impact from the surprisingly strong ISM Manufacturing number released on Monday, which has been contributing to a sharp rise in US yields this week. It’s likely today’s figures could at least slow the pace of the rise in US yields, with focus now turning to Friday’s US NFP data to guide the market’s direction.”

In other macro news, the ADP employment report showed that 184,000 private-sector jobs were added in March, following a revised 155,000 the month before and ahead of the 148,000 consensus forecast. Eyes will now turn to the all-important non-farm payrolls report on Friday.

"We expect the March employment report to show moderating job growth, adding to the Federal Reserve's confidence that the labor market is rebalancing and that wage growth has slowed," said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics. "However, given recent inflation data, the jobs data will not be enough to keep the Fed on track for a May rate cut."

Market movers

Entertainment giant Disney closed 3% lower after prevailing in its proxy fight against Trian Partners, run by activist investor Nelson Peltz who had campaigned for change at the top of the company, with shareholders voting to reelect its full board.

“With the distracting proxy contest now behind us, we’re eager to focus 100% of our attention on our most important priorities: growth and value creation for our shareholders and creative excellence for our consumers,” chief executive Bob Iger said in a statement.

Intel dropped more than 8% after reporting an operating loss of $7bn at its chip-making unit last year, compared with a $5.2bn loss in 2022, on revenues that were 31% lower at $18.9bn.

Music-streaming service Spotify surged 8% on reports it is raising prices for its premium subscription in a number of markets – the second time it has upped prices in a year.

Dow Jones - Risers

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $375.79 3.00%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $59.99 1.18%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $190.90 1.07%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $414.32 0.94%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.84 0.71%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $229.06 0.53%
American Express Co. (AXP) $226.67 0.49%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $169.65 0.48%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $59.43 0.46%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $160.53 0.41%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $40.33 -8.22%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $118.98 -3.13%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $156.15 -2.75%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $154.26 -2.20%
Boeing Co. (BA) $184.92 -1.66%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.74 -1.26%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $18.50 -1.18%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $359.90 -0.85%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $275.54 -0.79%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $90.33 -0.68%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.04 9.47%
General Electric Co. (GE) $145.62 6.70%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $72.01 4.97%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $128.01 4.29%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $71.62 4.05%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $71.34 3.62%
HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $63.15 3.22%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $375.79 3.00%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $13.65 2.79%
Dollar General Corp (DG) $159.18 2.77%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $439.98 -15.34%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $40.33 -8.22%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $10.89 -6.28%
Sealed Air Corp. (SEE) $33.79 -5.56%
Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $146.48 -4.12%
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $46.46 -3.67%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $42.97 -3.33%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $118.98 -3.13%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $105.49 -2.94%
J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $119.52 -2.88%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $128.01 4.29%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $71.62 4.05%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $630.08 2.58%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $9.09 2.36%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $77.55 1.93%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $506.74 1.88%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $3,632.38 1.86%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $1,363.21 1.83%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $173.91 1.68%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $578.87 1.59%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $439.98 -15.34%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $40.33 -8.22%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $3.57 -3.25%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.10 -2.65%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $27.27 -1.94%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $67.97 -1.86%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $55.95 -1.67%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $14.16 -1.67%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $70.89 -1.66%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $141.52 -1.50%