US close: Stocks mixed as Fed reports fall in loan demand

Wall Street’s stock indices closed mixed on Wednesday, with little change overall, as investors responded to the latest round of quarterly earnings from the likes of Morgan Stanley.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.23% to close at 33,897.01, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.01% to 4,154.52.

Going the other way, the Nasdaq Composite eked out gains of 0.03% to end the day at 12,157.23.

The latest inflation figures out of the UK also weighed on market sentiment, as consumer price growth slowed less than expected in March as food price inflation remained red-hot.

In currencies, the dollar was last up 0.06% on sterling at 80.44p, while it gained 0.01% against the common currency to 91.29 euro cents.

The yen rate remained unchanged, however, changing hands at JPY 134.72.

“Short-term US yields have been on the up for about a week, but stocks are only really noticing now,” said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp earlier.

“After a reasonable start to earnings season we have seen a more cautious mood creep in, which is understandable given the fears about a recession happening within the next year.

“Losses have been relatively contained however, with stocks caught more in a period of indecision rather than heading into another big sell-off.”

Beige Book shows fall in demand for lending

In economic news, the latest edition of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book was released late in the session, showing US economic activity was broadly unchanged in late March and early April.

The report, which includes non-scientific survey responses on economic conditions across the Fed's 12 districts, showed nine of them reported either no change or slight growth in activity, while three districts reported modest growth.

However, the Fed said both bank lending and lending demand from consumers and businesses "generally declined".

That was particularly pronounced in the San Francisco region, given the recent collapse of specialist tech startup lender Silicon Valley Bank.

Meanwhile, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America reported that mortgage applications plummeted 8.8% in the week ended 14 April - a stark reversal from the previous week's 5.3% rise.

Applications to purchase a home fell by 10%, while applications to refinance a home loan dropped 5.8%.

According to MBA chief economist Joel Kan, the trend was due to "affordability challenges" and a lack of available inventory in many markets, leading buyers to be more selective in their purchasing decisions.

Morgan Stanley manages positive close, Netflix slides on revenue

In equities, investment banking giant Morgan Stanley saw its shares close 0.67% higher, after it exceeded consensus expectations for both revenue and net income in its quarterly earnings.

Ailing retailer Bed Bath & Beyond rose by a whopping 35.28% amid renewed social media speculation over the meme investor favourite.

On the downside, Netflix fell 3.17% after it released a disappointing set of numbers overnight, beating earnings estimates but falling short of revenue expectations.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Dow Jones - Risers

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $182.57 6.15%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $162.53 0.94%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $336.89 0.89%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $167.63 0.70%
American Express Co. (AXP) $164.95 0.33%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $198.87 0.21%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $63.68 0.19%
Boeing Co. (BA) $208.47 0.16%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $291.27 0.12%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $150.01 0.11%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.04 -4.51%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $486.20 -3.62%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $98.75 -2.16%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $31.15 -2.14%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $34.82 -2.11%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $126.32 -1.14%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $38.60 -0.87%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $296.83 -0.68%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $114.13 -0.61%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $56.40 -0.60%

S&P 500 - Risers

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $298.57 10.88%
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $112.29 7.82%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $46.27 7.50%
Zions Bancorporation (ZION) $32.72 7.42%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $182.57 6.15%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $16.16 6.11%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $25.97 6.00%
Comerica Inc. (CMA) $47.09 5.49%
Medtronic Plc (MDT) $84.87 3.94%
Teleflex Inc. (TFX) $268.49 3.39%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Elevance Health Inc. (ELV) $457.33 -5.33%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $14.96 -5.20%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.04 -4.51%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $31.76 -4.16%
Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) $92.16 -4.14%
F5 Inc. (FFIV) $137.05 -4.09%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $12.22 -4.01%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $492.90 -3.86%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $486.20 -3.62%
Gartner Inc. (IT) $307.24 -3.31%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $298.57 10.88%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.63 2.56%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $356.37 2.39%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $178.41 2.00%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $104.30 1.96%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $83.99 1.79%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $231.61 1.46%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $3.93 1.29%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $487.70 1.16%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $328.45 1.01%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.04 -4.51%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.77 -3.74%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $323.12 -3.17%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $34.62 -3.08%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $623.60 -3.07%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $361.26 -2.68%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $128.15 -2.31%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $62.86 -2.19%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $31.15 -2.14%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $34.82 -2.11%