US close: Post-midterms tumble ahead of inflation reading

Wall Street stocks were still in the red at the close on Wednesday, as investors continued to hold their breath for any clear results from the midterm elections.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.95% at 32,513.94, as the S&P 500 lost 2.08% to 3,748.57 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 2.48% at 10,353.18.

The Dow Jones closed 646,89 points lower on Wednesday, taking a big chunk out of gains recorded in the previous session.

“On Wall Street US indices are weaker after recent gains, and without many earnings to drive them they too have hunkered down ahead of the CPI reading tomorrow,” said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

“After the busy weeks of October and early November both the buyers and sellers are generally exhausted.”

Beauchamp said a potential note of caution was found in the dollar, which was managing to stem its losses earlier.

“Dollar bulls will be on the lookout tomorrow for reasons to jump back into one of 2022’s standout performers, with the focus once again on core CPI and any sign that inflation remains solidly entrenched despite the Fed’s best efforts to bring it down.”

Market participants were looking for more details on which party had taken control of Congress, with most news outlets declining to project a winner in the House of Representatives.

Some estimates earlier suggested Republicans could win a total of 220 seats - making a narrow majority.

With the midterms almost over and down with, traders will now turn their attention to tomorrow's all-important CPI reading and inflation data as they hoped to gain some further insight into the Federal Reserve's future plans for interest rates as the central bank attempts to cool down inflation.

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell 0.1% in the first week of November for a seventh consecutive weekly drop.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, applications to refinance a loan were down 3.5%, while those to purchase properties rose 1.3%.

In the corporate space, Facebook and Instagram owner Meta gained 5.18% after announcing it would slash around 13% of its global workforce in a bid to cut costs.

In a message to employees, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company will be letting go of more than 11,000 people.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com. Additional reporting by Iain Gilbert.

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $101.59 0.09%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $0.00 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $277.79 -0.22%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $136.48 -0.24%
Boeing Co. (BA) $168.28 -0.52%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $362.01 -0.55%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $37.62 -0.66%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $172.56 -0.80%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $289.65 -0.94%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $86.75 -13.16%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $177.93 -4.00%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $47.67 -3.97%
Visa Inc. (V) $193.89 -3.89%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $36.89 -3.66%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $142.20 -3.43%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $27.52 -3.37%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $134.87 -3.32%
American Express Co. (AXP) $145.86 -2.89%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $139.40 -2.33%

S&P 500 - Risers

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $89.08 6.19%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $101.47 5.18%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $75.57 2.98%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $28.74 2.35%
Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (PNW) $69.86 2.30%
Kroger Co. (KR) $48.04 1.99%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $54.02 1.50%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $19.91 1.17%
General Mills Inc. (GIS) $80.34 0.98%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $78.49 0.98%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $86.75 -13.16%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $67.93 -9.22%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $15.79 -8.62%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $6.47 -8.47%
Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $26.74 -8.20%
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $30.90 -7.93%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $14.15 -7.76%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $48.31 -7.51%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $10.62 -7.33%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $66.76 -7.26%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $101.47 5.18%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $28.74 2.35%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $54.02 1.50%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $309.34 0.93%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $74.43 0.83%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $77.22 0.69%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $94.09 0.56%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $1,865.82 0.36%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $82.32 0.11%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $21.66 0.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.64 -13.68%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $25.00 -7.99%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $14.15 -7.76%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $177.59 -7.17%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $79.48 -6.70%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $42.46 -6.66%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $34.35 -5.94%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $137.76 -5.66%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $57.96 -5.59%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $59.22 -4.68%