US close: Dow plunges over 150 points amid disappointing economic data
US stocks declined on Wednesday, as investors digested a disappointing reading on retail sales and a number of corporate earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 157 points to 16,924.75, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were nine and six points lower respectively.
Retail sales disappoint
The Department of Commerce said retail sales rose 0.1% month-on-month compared with a flat reading in the previous month and with analysts’ expectations for a 0.2% increase.
"The softness of September’s retail sales figures supports our view that the Fed probably isn’t going to hike interest rates until early next year," said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.
"We now estimate that third-quarter real consumption growth was around 3.0% annualised, which is still healthy enough, but not quite as good as the 3.6% gain that we were anticipating."
Meanwhile, according to the Labor Department, wholesale prices declined 0.5% month-on-month in September driven lower by the sharpest drop in gasoline prices since January.
The decline was bigger than the 0.2% drop analysts had forecast and was also lower compared to the flat reading registered in the previous month.
Elsewhere, applications for US home mortgages tumbled last week, as the Mortgage Bankers Association revealed its index of finance application activity slumped 27.6%.
Earnings in focus In company news, Intel rose 2.37% after the IT giant reported slower growth in its data-centre businesses, although its quarterly profit beat forecasts. JP Morgan Chase & Co closed down 2.53% after saying late on Tuesday its quarterly revenue fell short of expectations.
Among the companies that reported before the bell, BlackRock gained 2.33% after its quarterly results beat analysts’ expectations, while Bank of America climbed 0.77% after swinging to a third quarter profit, although revenue declined year-on-year.
Netflix lost 12% in after hour trading after its quarterly revenue missed forecast, while Wal-Mart plunged 10.04% after warning its earnings would be dented by a $1bn investment in digital initiatives.
The retailer expects earnings per share to decline by 6% to 12% in its next business year.
The stock suffered its biggest one-day drop since 1988 and closed at its lowest level since May 2012.
Worries over China slowdown intensify
Elsewhere, Asian markets fell on Wednesday, after China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the consumer price index rose 1.6% year-on-year in September compared with a 2% increase in August and with analysts’ expectations for a 1.8% gain.
“We expect the fall in consumer price inflation to be temporary,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist at Capital Economics.
“CPI and PPI are likely to pick-up markedly, easing concerns over deflation.”
The dollar was on the back foot against the main currencies, losing 0.8% against both the yen and the euro. The greenback slumped 1.42 % against the pound, while gold futures surged 1.54% to $1,186.83.
European stocks were in the red, while oil prices fell, with West Texas Intermediate losing 0.15% to $46.59 a barrel.
S&P 500 - Risers
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $83.28 +24.88%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $68.79 +11.36%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $59.80 +6.69%
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) $3.51 +6.36%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $19.47 +5.99%
FMC Corp. (FMC) $38.52 +5.97%
Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC) $43.58 +5.88%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $35.31 +5.59%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $12.55 +4.32%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $67.21 +3.99%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $60.02 -10.06%
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $34.80 -6.05%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $121.46 -5.18%
Windstream Holdings Inc (WIN) $6.38 -4.92%
Boeing Co. (BA) $134.11 -4.41%
Dollar General Corp (DG) $65.09 -4.24%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $719.02 -4.18%
Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) $63.73 -4.05%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UA) $97.26 -3.99%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $29.30 -3.68%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $32.70 +2.06%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $89.77 +1.57%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $80.17 +1.28%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $56.43 +1.20%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $70.70 +0.76%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $149.94 +0.21%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $49.54 +0.14%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $74.21 +0.13%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $33.02 +0.12%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.70 +0.12%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $60.02 -10.06%
Boeing Co. (BA) $134.11 -4.41%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $59.95 -2.60%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $92.11 -2.30%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $110.07 -1.54%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $122.17 -1.47%
Visa Inc. (V) $74.17 -1.11%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $120.30 -1.08%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $94.52 -0.97%
General Electric Co. (GE) $27.60 -0.97%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $83.28 +24.88%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $68.79 +11.36%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $38.26 +10.23%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $59.80 +6.69%
Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC) $43.58 +5.88%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $91.33 +4.95%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $12.55 +4.32%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $18.83 +3.55%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $27.30 +3.39%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $113.02 +3.31%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $121.46 -5.18%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $61.28 -3.44%
Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $27.26 -2.82%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $117.28 -2.77%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $23.94 -2.74%
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,310.89 -2.54%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $128.46 -2.45%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $58.71 -2.41%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $182.71 -2.23%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $78.97 -2.01%