US close: Stocks weaker as investors pore over Fed minutes

Wall Street stocks closed weaker on Wednesday, as market participants digested the minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting late in the session.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.08% at 34,960.69, while the S&P 500 lost 1.07% to 4,400.27 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.89% at 14,525.91.

The Dow Jones closed 382.5 points lower on Wednesday, piling onto the losses recorded in the previous session after the Census Bureau said retail sales had fallen 1.1% in June.

Wednesday afternoon’s primary focus was the minutes from the FOMC's July policy meeting, with investors looking for hints as to when the central bank would start dialling back its bond buying programme.

Indeed, there was growing support within the Fed to announce tapering in September.

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell 3.9% week-on-week in the seven days ended 13 August, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, principally due to a 5.3% decrease in refinancing applications as the average contract interest rate for traditional 30-year mortgages inched up to 3.06% from 2.99%.

Elsewhere, US housing starts fell more than expected last month, pointing to a normalisation in demand for housing to pre-pandemic levels.

According to the Department of Commerce, housing starts fell 7.0% month-on-month to reach an annualised pace of approximately 1.53m, while housing permits surprised to the upside, climbing 2.6% on the month to reach 1.64m.

In the corporate space, Target was down 2.78% even after its earnings topped estimates, leading the retailer to raise its full-year forecasts.

Lowe's rocketed 9.59%, meanwhile, after it also beat estimates thanks to home professionals helping drive growth.

Cisco Systems, Nvidia and Robinhood were all in focus, as they were set to report quarterly earnings after the close.

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $251.22 1.71%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $321.55 0.25%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $158.72 -0.11%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $49.02 -0.24%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $174.74 -0.62%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $61.88 -0.69%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $290.73 -0.80%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $155.58 -0.91%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $96.70 -4.00%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $146.36 -2.55%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $139.47 -2.07%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $226.84 -1.89%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $209.81 -1.70%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.15 -1.54%
American Express Co. (AXP) $162.13 -1.53%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $398.95 -1.52%
3M Co. (MMM) $196.51 -1.52%
Boeing Co. (BA) $219.00 -1.45%

S&P 500 - Risers

Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) $199.73 9.59%
TJX Companies Inc. (TJX) $73.00 5.57%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $124.05 2.72%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $22.48 2.00%
MGM Resorts International (MGM) $38.64 1.87%
Kroger Co. (KR) $46.26 1.80%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $251.22 1.71%
Edison International (EIX) $58.66 1.70%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $77.21 1.57%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $28.83 1.51%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $96.70 -4.00%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $103.44 -3.83%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $11.61 -3.81%
CME Group Inc. (CME) $197.58 -3.80%
News Corp Class A (NWSA) $22.18 -3.52%
Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (JKHY) $172.38 -3.47%
News Corp Class B (NWS) $21.58 -3.32%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $56.91 -3.31%
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) $272.25 -3.29%
S&P Global Inc Com (SPGI) $430.00 -3.19%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $25.18 4.66%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $688.99 3.50%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $124.05 2.72%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $65.53 1.98%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $114.26 1.18%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $100.94 1.14%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $101.43 0.95%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,784.13 0.91%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $16.93 0.83%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $521.87 0.57%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $208.47 -2.95%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $146.36 -2.55%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $36.95 -2.53%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $510.61 -2.35%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $341.87 -2.26%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $75.78 -2.17%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $190.40 -2.15%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $468.97 -2.03%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $114.71 -1.99%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $175.25 -1.91%