US close: Stocks extend losses another session

Wall Street stocks closed lower Wednesday as the blue-chip Dow Jones ended the day in the red for a third-straight session.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.19% at 36,054.43, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.39% to 4,549.34 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out of the session 0.58% weaker at 14,146.71.

The Dow closed 70.13 points lower on Wednesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

The Bank of Canada was in focus on Wednesday after the central bank decided to keep its policy rate unchanged at 5% for a third consecutive meeting. However, the neighbouring bank acknowledged that there was evidence that the economy was no longer experiencing excess demand. The decision comes just one week before the US Federal Reserve meets for one final time this year.

On the macro front, private payrolls grew by 103,000 in November, according to payrolls processing firm ADP, below October's downwardly revised reading of 106,000 and short of the 128,000 predicted by economists. Along with the modest job growth came a 5.6% increase in annual pay, the smallest gain seen since September 2021, positive news for the Federal Reserve in its fight against inflation. However, the increase in productivity indicated the potential for the economy to skirt a recession. Private payroll data from ADP offered the latest indication that the job market, long considered a pain point for the Federal Reserve, was easing.

Elsewhere, mortgage applications rose 2.8% in the week ended 1 December, with refinancing applications jumping 13.9% amid sliding interest rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinancing applications were also 10% higher year-on-year. The increase comes as the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances fell to 7.17% from 7.37% - the lowest level seen since August. New mortgage applications were down 0.3% on the week.

In the corporate space, Box was under pressure after reporting third-quarter results that came in below expectations, while Toll Brothers traded higher after exceeding expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $21.38 4.24%
Boeing Co. (BA) $236.89 1.17%
3M Co. (MMM) $102.79 1.08%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $325.67 0.81%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $91.50 0.78%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $116.13 0.61%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $256.34 0.31%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $38.50 0.21%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $286.88 0.11%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $342.17 0.06%

Dow Jones - Fallers

American Express Co. (AXP) $167.51 -1.86%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $41.27 -1.55%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $156.42 -1.22%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $154.04 -1.09%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $156.31 -1.05%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $368.80 -1.00%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $249.20 -0.75%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $160.28 -0.69%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $192.32 -0.57%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $105.67 -0.56%

S&P 500 - Risers

Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $43.24 7.11%
Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) $25.86 6.37%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $17.48 5.94%
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $37.00 4.94%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $118.09 4.45%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $21.38 4.24%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $54.93 3.76%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $38.93 3.54%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $73.50 3.49%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $118.17 3.39%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Brown Forman Corp. Class B (BF.B) $53.88 -10.38%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $18.91 -7.09%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.47 -4.52%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $29.59 -4.17%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $34.85 -4.05%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $143.14 -3.85%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $23.54 -3.52%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $22.64 -3.45%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $483.86 -3.31%
HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $52.65 -3.04%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.90 7.91%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $21.38 4.24%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $3.96 3.13%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $59.53 2.78%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $494.51 2.72%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.48 2.67%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $62.13 2.27%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $113.99 2.00%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $233.87 1.87%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $26.60 1.84%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $455.03 -2.28%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $446.73 -1.85%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $257.68 -1.72%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $144.52 -1.61%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $528.61 -1.60%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $234.86 -1.57%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $41.27 -1.55%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $527.49 -1.53%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $126.03 -1.35%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $595.70 -1.08%