US close: Stocks lower following red hot CPI reading
Wall Street stocks lost ground on Wednesday following a hotter-than-expected inflation reading.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.67% at 30,772.79, while the S&P 500 was 0.45% weaker at 3,801.78 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.15% softer at 11,247.58.
The Dow closed 208.54 points lower on Wednesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session as global economic growth concerns remained in focus ahead of a potentially rough earnings season.
Wednesday's primary focus was news that US inflation surged to 9.1% in June, ahead of expectations for a print of 8.8% to the highest level seen since November 1981. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, June's reading, up from 8.6% in May, comes as energy prices rose 41.6% last month, the most since April 1980.
At the core level, which excludes food and energy, inflation increased 5.9% - slightly below the 6% clip in May but above forecasts for a reading of 5.7%.
Market participants believe the hot CPI reading may lead the Federal Bank to hike interest rates by another 75 basis points at this month's meeting - just a month after the central bank raised benchmark interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point in its most aggressive rate hike since 1994.
Also drawing an amount of investor attention was news that the International Monetary Fund has cut its GDP forecast for the US to 2.% from its previous level of 2.9%. The IMF also reduced 2023's growth estimate to 1% from its initial reading of 1.7% and predicted that the US unemployment rate could increase to as high as 4.6% next year.
Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications fell 1.7% in the week ended 8 July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, led by a 3.6% decline in the purchase index. Applications to refinance a home rose 2.2% as the average interest rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged at 5.74%
In the corporate space, Delta Air Lines posted a quarterly profit as price increases helped cover heightened operating costs throughout the period as a result of Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $105.07 1.26%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $287.35 0.78%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $145.66 0.63%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $252.91 0.57%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $125.45 0.30%
American Express Co. (AXP) $139.43 0.18%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $37.27 0.16%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $93.70 0.11%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $502.87 -2.25%
Boeing Co. (BA) $144.16 -2.03%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $163.03 -1.98%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $37.31 -1.74%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $137.18 -1.44%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $49.77 -1.29%
3M Co. (MMM) $128.64 -1.20%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $111.80 -1.04%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $289.69 -0.97%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $163.78 -0.91%
S&P 500 - Risers
Twitter Inc (TWTR) $36.74 7.87%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $46.38 3.37%
Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $27.16 3.11%
Clorox Co. (CLX) $147.77 2.70%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $667.99 2.25%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $135.82 2.16%
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $27.39 2.01%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $76.51 1.92%
Constellation Brands Inc. Class A (STZ) $244.98 1.84%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $77.68 1.73%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $46.92 -6.13%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $29.65 -4.63%
HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $43.53 -3.80%
W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) $456.66 -3.69%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $181.31 -3.55%
Principal Financial Group Inc (PFG) $63.48 -3.42%
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) $40.05 -3.31%
Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $168.12 -3.27%
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) $90.76 -3.24%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $28.06 -3.07%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $26.17 6.43%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $89.68 3.69%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $447.53 3.00%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $61.88 2.86%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $667.99 2.25%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $135.82 2.16%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $76.51 1.92%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $712.39 1.88%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $177.20 1.58%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $139.87 1.51%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $46.92 -6.13%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $181.31 -3.55%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $14.33 -2.98%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $2,240.92 -2.44%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $2,227.64 -2.31%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $37.31 -1.74%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $42.56 -1.48%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $170.15 -1.27%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $603.05 -1.15%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $79.50 -1.14%