US close: Stocks inch into green as Beige Book meets mixed data

US stocks inched higher on Wednesday as oil prices yo-yoed and the Federal Reserve's 'Beige Book' noted tight labor markets and growing price pressure.

Other factors that percolated through traders decision-making were the trimming of US national growth forecasts by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and better than expected data about the manufacturing sector.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average clawed back early losses to creep 2.47 points higher to end at 17,789.67, likewise the S&P 500 added 2.37 points to 2,099.33 and the Nasdaq put on 4.2 points to finish at 4,952.25.

As members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries convened in Vienna, oil prices intially fell on the prospect of rising production, before climbing on rumours of a production freeze, which were later crushed by the United Arab Emirates oil minister.

West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.2% to $49.22 per barrel and Brent 0.1% higher at $49.95 per barrel. The dollar fell 0.5% against the euro to $1.1188, rose 0.5% against the pound to $1.4415 and slid 1.13% versus the yen to $0.009131.

Beige outlook

The Fed's biquarterly report on regional economic conditions, known as the Beige Book, found labour markets seemed to be tightening despite "modest" job growth, which was pushing up wages.

"Tight labor markets were widely noted in most districts," the anecdotal report said. "Price pressure grew slightly in most districts."

The Fed reported modest or moderate economic growth in the majority of its 12 districts, with several districts noting that contacts had "generally optimistic outlooks, with firms expecting growth either to continue at its current pace or to increase”.

The view from outside was that US growth will be more modest than had hitherto been expected.

In its latest economic outlook, the OECD cut its forecast for US gross domestic product to 1.8% this year, compared to an estimate of 2.5% in November. GDP rose 2.4% last year.

In its wider assessment of the global economy the Paris-based organisation said the recovery remains weak due to subdued trade and problems in emerging markets.

Data deluge

Meanwhile, Markit’s final US manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 50.7 in May, up from the flash estimate of 50.5 but down from 50.8 in April and pointing to the weakest performance since September 2009.

Other industry data came from ISM, where the manufacturing index rose to 51.3 in May from 50.8, surprising analysts’ who had pencilled in a reading of 50.4.

US construction spending recorded its biggest decline in more than five years in April, the Commerce Department revealed.

Construction spending fell 1.8% in April from a month ago, missing estimates for a 0.6% increase and following a 1.5% rise in March.

Corporates

In corporate news, Under Armour was in the red after the sportswear maker cut its outlook for the year.

Michael Kors rallied after reporting fourth quarter revenue that beat analysts’ estimates.

Vera Bradley edged lower as it reported a 6.7% decline in quarterly same-store sales, blaming a drop in e-commerce sales.

S&P 500 - Risers
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $16.62 +5.12%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $33.94 +4.91%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $36.44 +4.62%
Molson Coors Brewing Co. Class B (TAP) $102.17 +3.01%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $24.67 +2.92%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $13.09 +2.91%
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $65.19 +2.89%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $16.85 +2.87%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $14.06 +2.85%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $177.40 +2.83%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $10.60 -4.33%
Equity Residential (EQR) $66.37 -4.10%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UA) $36.25 -3.92%
Essex Prty Trust Inc. (ESS) $218.93 -3.65%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $36.65 -3.40%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $52.09 -2.93%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $13.11 -2.82%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $14.07 -2.76%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $32.10 -2.58%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $59.81 -2.19%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
and Co. (DD) $66.40 +1.51%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $81.79 +0.93%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $65.69 +0.64%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $134.53 +0.64%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $114.84 +0.61%
Visa Inc. (V) $79.22 +0.35%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $159.97 +0.31%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $89.24 +0.25%
American Express Co. (AXP) $65.91 +0.23%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $44.70 +0.22%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $98.46 -1.40%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $50.43 -0.92%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $152.51 -0.80%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $98.52 -0.71%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $54.93 -0.53%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $28.90 -0.52%
General Electric Co. (GE) $30.11 -0.40%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $70.50 -0.40%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $72.27 -0.33%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $52.85 -0.28%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $16.62 +5.12%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $33.94 +4.91%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $227.50 +3.91%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $13.09 +2.91%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $44.46 +2.58%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $152.52 +2.52%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $47.63 +2.34%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $23.01 +1.99%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $50.73 +1.66%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $29.35 +1.63%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $36.65 -3.40%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $23.79 -3.33%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $44.32 -3.15%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $87.40 -2.51%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $25.07 -1.80%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $219.56 -1.64%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $24.07 -1.59%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $38.65 -1.55%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $98.46 -1.40%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $176.53 -1.13%