US close: Stocks close mixed amid slew of data
Wall Street stocks closed in a mixed state on Wednesday, as major corporate earnings remained firmly in focus.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.12% at 30,723.60 and the S&P 500 was ahead 0.1% at 3,830.17, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.02% to 13,610.54.
The Dow closed 36.12 points higher, adding slightly to the gains recorded in the previous session, as concerns regarding a recent wave of speculative retail trading subsided.
Market participants were monitoring discussions surrounding another stimulus package in Washington, after President Joe Biden met with 10 Republican senators earlier in the week to talk over a reduced aid proposal when compared to his $1.9trn package.
On the macro front, mortgage applications increased 8.15% week-on-week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, breaking a two-week streak of declines.
The refinance index also improved 11% on the prior week - up to its highest level since March 2020 and 59% higher year-on-year.
Elsewhere, US private employers hired more workers in January than in the previous month despite new Covid-19 infections continuing to soar across the country.
Private payrolls increased by 174,000 in January, according to ADP, ahead of expectations for a print of 49,000, while data for December was revised to show 78,000 jobs lost instead of the 123,000 initially reported.
Still on data, economic activity in the US service sector expanded at a solid clip last month, with IHS Markit's services PMI rising to 58.3 from 54.8, ahead of both the flash estimate and market expectations of 57.5.
The composite PMI also improved - up to 58.7, ahead of forecasts for a print of 58.
Lastly, the services PMI increased to 58.7 in January from 57.7 in December, beating market forecasts of 56.8, according to the Institute for Supply Management, pointing to the strongest expansion in the services sector since February 2019.
In equities, solid quarterly report cards from both Amazon and Google parent Alphabet overnight saw the two technology giants head in opposite directions.
Shares in Amazon ended the session down 2%, while those in Alphabet were up 7.4%.
Following the stock's absurd run last week, GameStop was in the green again, managing to rise 2.12% by the end of trading.
Quarterly results from Biogen saw its shares sink 5.21% after it revealed it had fallen short of earnings estimates, leading it to issue some weak guidance.
Boston Scientific, meanwhile, was 2.24% stronger, even after it posted earnings shy of analyst expectations.
Dow Jones - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $207.39 3.21%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $88.96 2.18%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $243.00 1.46%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $55.35 1.36%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $135.14 1.15%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $48.90 0.95%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $274.17 0.74%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $288.55 0.55%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $54.79 0.53%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $141.20 0.31%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $237.08 -1.42%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $138.66 -0.84%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $133.94 -0.78%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $138.63 -0.69%
Visa Inc. (V) $201.36 -0.62%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $77.32 -0.58%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $57.68 -0.55%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $191.45 -0.55%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $208.71 -0.50%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $199.14 -0.49%
S&P 500 - Risers
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $55.88 9.01%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $63.58 8.84%
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) $75.17 7.80%
Macy's Inc. (M) $14.75 7.66%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $46.65 7.59%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $24.18 7.42%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $2,070.07 7.40%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $18.20 7.31%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $2,058.88 7.28%
Hess Corp. (HES) $58.36 7.12%
S&P 500 - Fallers
PerkinElmer Inc. (PKI) $139.72 -7.55%
Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $326.23 -6.21%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $140.82 -5.47%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $263.25 -5.21%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $420.20 -4.55%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $161.88 -4.35%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $485.36 -4.20%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $286.30 -4.18%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $99.87 -3.59%
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) $500.22 -3.53%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $2,070.07 7.40%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $2,058.88 7.28%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $18.81 7.24%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $17.60 6.09%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $95.67 4.11%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $12.51 3.22%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $30.73 2.19%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $108.42 2.19%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $138.48 1.73%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $243.00 1.46%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $120.03 -10.49%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $140.82 -5.47%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $263.25 -5.21%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $420.20 -4.55%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $485.36 -4.20%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $286.30 -4.18%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $99.87 -3.59%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $168.58 -3.53%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $179.46 -3.25%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $79.11 -3.08%