US close: Profit-taking sees stocks finish weaker

Wall Street stocks closed weaker on Wednesday, as both oil prices and elevated bond yields remained in focus.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.29% at 34,258.50, the S&P 500 lost 1.23% to 4,456.24, and the Nasdaq Composite was off 1.32% at 13,922.60.

The Dow closed 448.96 points lower on Wednesday, more than erasing the gains it recorded in the previous session.

“US markets have slipped back on the back of the weakness in European markets and some profit-taking after decent gains in five days out of the last six,” said CMC Markets chief market analyst Micharl Hewson.

“Yesterday saw the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 both hit their best levels since 10 February, so it’s likely what we’re seeing today is nothing more than some modest profit-taking.

“The firmer oil price is helping to support the likes of Chevron, while on the downside Boeing shares are still under pressure after Chinese authorities said they had recovered one of the flight data recorders from the crash scene in China.”

Oil prices pulled back from their earlier gains by dinnertime in New York, with West Texas Intermediate futures last down 0.44% on NYMEX at $114.43 per barrel, while Brent crude’s ICE quote was unchanged at $121.60.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note eased off slightly from the previous session, but remained elevated at 2.303%.

Market participants also continued to digest the latest headlines on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling for more pressure on Russia from other nations as the invasion looked set to be entering a stalemate.

On the macro front, mortgage applications sank 8.1% in the week ended 18 March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as mortgage rates surged to their highest level in three years.

Applications to refinance a home loan declined 14.4%, while those to purchase slipped 1.5% as the average fixed 30-year mortgage rate increased by 23 basis points to 4.50% - the highest since early 2019.

Elsewhere, sales of new US single-family homes unexpectedly fell in February, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Commerce Department.

New home sales declined by 2% from January to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 772,000.

Analysts had been expecting a level of 810,000.

The median price of a new home, meanwhile, fell to $400,600 from $427,400 in January.

In the corporate space, Cheerios pusher General Mills was up 2.47% after it raised full-year sales and profit forecasts on the back of higher prices and elevated demand for food at home.

Meme stock GameStop was in focus again, rocketingg 14.5% after its chairman Ryan Cohan bought another 100,000 shares in the company, taking his holding to 11.9%.

On the downside, camper giant Winnebago plunged 11.77%, even after it reported a 39% jump in second-quarter revenues.

Moderna was off 4.28%, despite finding that its Covid-19 vaccine is effective on children aged under six, and announcing it would apply for emergency use authorisation in the US and Europe.

Dow Jones - Risers

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $165.86 1.08%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $170.21 0.82%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $79.73 0.54%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $50.97 -0.06%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $133.00 -0.07%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $222.17 -0.24%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.27 -0.25%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $174.34 -0.38%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $317.05 -3.85%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $211.11 -3.25%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $54.48 -3.01%
American Express Co. (AXP) $186.02 -2.78%
Boeing Co. (BA) $186.04 -2.62%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $335.61 -2.16%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $139.78 -1.99%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $137.64 -1.76%
Visa Inc. (V) $214.68 -1.73%
3M Co. (MMM) $147.68 -1.51%

S&P 500 - Risers

Hess Corp. (HES) $106.22 4.56%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $142.64 3.85%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $78.91 3.79%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $25.58 3.73%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $103.59 3.59%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $67.93 3.43%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $42.41 2.94%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $38.07 2.64%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $104.37 2.55%
General Mills Inc. (GIS) $64.23 2.47%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $422.90 -9.34%
Resmed Inc. (RMD) $233.00 -8.65%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $82.46 -5.84%
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $37.78 -5.31%
Teleflex Inc. (TFX) $328.97 -5.15%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $78.54 -5.13%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $107.20 -5.09%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $14.07 -4.87%
Waters Corp. (WAT) $323.86 -4.69%
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) $58.20 -4.59%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $401.34 2.12%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $38.28 0.87%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $170.21 0.82%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $95.47 0.80%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $999.11 0.52%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $101.12 0.22%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $154.90 0.20%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $27.44 0.18%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $688.66 0.18%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $389.79 0.01%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $422.90 -9.34%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $85.12 -4.54%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $75.65 -4.39%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $437.06 -4.37%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $207.34 -4.30%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $4.99 -4.04%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $78.05 -4.00%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $275.20 -3.92%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $73.77 -3.43%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $159.14 -3.42%