US close: Stocks end solid second quarter in mixed state

Wall Street equities closed in a mixed state on Wednesday, as major indices looked set to close out a winning first half and second quarter on a mostly positive note.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.61% at 34,502.51 and the S&P 500 added 0.13% to 4,297.50, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.17% to 14,503.95.

The Dow closed 210.22 points higher on Wednesday, extending modest gains recorded in the previous session.

Wall Street stocks put a solid first half behind them on the final day of trading for the second quarter, with first half gains mostly being driven by a rapid reopening of the US economy as over 60% of adults had now received their Covid-19 vaccine.

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell 6.9% in the week ended 25 June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, making for the largest drop since early February as record-high home price appreciation sidelined many buyers.

Applications to refinance existing loans dropped 8.2% and applications to purchase a home slid 4.8% week-on-week, as the average contract interest rate for traditional 30-year mortgages increased to 3.20% from 3.18% the prior week.

Elsewhere, private sector employment increased by 692,000 jobs in June, according to ADP's national employment report, compared to analyst consensus estimates for a print of 600,000.

Still on data, June's Chicago PMI revealed business conditions in the Chicago region rose at a slightly slower pace in June after reaching its highest level in 47 years a month earlier.

The index fell to 66.1 in June from 75.2 in the prior month, the lowest since February.

Lastly, contracts to purchase previously owned homes rose sharply last month to reach the highest level seen since May 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The NAR's pending home sales index, based on contracts signed last month, rose 8.0% to 114.7, while economists had actually forecast pending home sales declining 0.8% month-on-month.

In the corporate space, Bed Bath & Beyond rocketed 11.3% after it raised its full-year revenues outlook, even though quarterly earnings were impacted by turnaround costs, while Constellation Brands was 1.26% firmer after raising its outlook on the back of strong beer sales.

General Mills added 1.5%, even after its quarterly net sales slid on weak at-home food demand.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $141.02 2.71%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $379.56 1.85%
Boeing Co. (BA) $239.56 1.61%
3M Co. (MMM) $198.63 1.33%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $52.61 1.19%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $217.63 1.18%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $175.77 1.06%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $104.74 0.94%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $155.54 0.91%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $77.77 0.73%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $56.14 -1.07%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $154.49 -0.94%
Visa Inc. (V) $233.82 -0.90%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $244.27 -0.63%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $270.90 -0.18%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $149.71 0.13%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $53.00 0.17%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $318.92 0.20%

S&P 500 - Risers

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $17.46 7.25%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $93.93 4.93%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $9.34 4.83%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $51.55 4.59%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $29.19 4.18%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $144.64 3.63%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $31.91 3.60%
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $72.45 3.60%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $15.32 3.51%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $33.66 3.28%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $66.72 -3.09%
W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) $438.17 -2.30%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $238.12 -2.10%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $149.76 -2.00%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $291.90 -1.96%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $186.78 -1.93%
Realty Income Corp. (O) $66.74 -1.78%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $54.63 -1.75%
Aon plc (AON) $239.03 -1.70%
Msci Inc. (MSCI) $533.08 -1.68%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $144.64 3.63%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $84.98 2.47%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $201.63 2.46%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $163.73 2.40%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $558.54 2.30%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $32.08 1.65%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $124.14 1.62%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $68.86 1.37%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $89.30 1.28%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $52.61 1.19%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $238.74 -3.10%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $66.72 -3.09%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $149.76 -2.00%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $291.90 -1.96%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $690.84 -1.82%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $203.90 -1.82%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,556.88 -1.65%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $69.26 -1.65%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $27.04 -1.31%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $473.21 -1.25%