US open: Investors go defensive
Wall Street is seeing slight losses on the back of continued negative newsflow out of the Far East, with Pyongyang having made a veiled threat of an attack against the US Pacific territory of Guam.
As of 1631 BST, the Dow Jones Industrials was lower by 64.33 points or 0.29% to 22,021.53, with the S&P 500 down by 0.24% or 5.95 points at 2,468.80 and the Nasdaq Composite leaving behind 0.49% or 31.47 points to trade at 6,337.08.
"We're seeing significant risk aversion in the markets on Wednesday, with the escalation in tensions between the US and North Korea triggering moves into safe haven assets," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.
From a sector standpoint the biggest gains were to be seen in the following industrial groups: Defense (1.51%), Home improvement retailers (0.91%) and Brewers (0.90%).
On a more positive note, shortly after the start of trading US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson downplayed the situation on the Korean peninsula, declaring that there was no imminent threat of war.
Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the start of the Great Financial Crisis, there was a fair bit of analyst commentary out and about regarding the chances and implications of a sharp correction in equity markets.
In a research note sent to clients on Wednesday, Capital Economics conceded there were similarities between the then current state of the US economy and financial markets and what they were back in 2007.
Thankfully, Capital Economics told clients it did not share those concerns because high valuation in equity markets were the result of a secular decline in real interest rates.
Be that as it may, the day before Gabriel Sterne at Oxford Economics there was a "reasonable possibility" of a significant correction due to "rich" valuations.
A 10% decline resulting from less "irrational exuberance" could reduce activity in advanced economies by 0.3%, with those with the most developed financial markets, such as the UK and US likely, "most affected", Sterne said.
On the economic front, according to the Department of Labor US labor productivity grew by 0.9% quarter-on-quarter over the three months to June (consensus: 0.8%), while unit labor costs were 0.6% higher (consensus: 1.0%).
US wholesale inventories rose by 0.7% month-on-month in June (consensus: 0.6%).
In parallel, figures out from the Department of Energy revealed that US oil inventories fell by 6.5m barrels last week.
Shares in Michael Kors shot higher after the luxury fashion retailer posted stronger-than-expected first quarter earnings per share and sales of 90 cents and $952.4m, respectively.
Netflix was being called some 4% lower ahead of the opening bell after Walt Disney said it would stop providing its branded movies for the company's streaming service from 2019 while announcing plans to launch a rival offering.
Tripadvisor was another top-faller after warning that it was "incrementally more cautious" regarding the outlook for the backhalf of the year.
Tribune Media missed analysts forecasts with its second quarter top and bottom-line numbers of 36 cents per share and $469.5m.
American Airlines was trading on the back foot after reporting a July load factor of 84.3%, down from 85.2% one year ago.
Mylan NV stock sank on the back of a disappointing set of financials for the three months to June and after providing weaker-than-expected guidance for 2017.
Dow Jones - Risers
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $129.72 0.91%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $154.62 0.83%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $59.80 0.57%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $110.91 0.51%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $114.89 0.42%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $132.81 0.41%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $81.40 0.35%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $155.20 0.18%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $91.69 0.12%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $80.01 0.06%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $101.54 -5.09%
Boeing Co. (BA) $236.66 -1.19%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $31.38 -0.93%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $230.20 -0.80%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $72.25 -0.73%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $93.07 -0.65%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $141.23 -0.62%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.35 -0.56%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.22 -0.52%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $117.65 -0.46%
S&P 500 - Risers
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $99.74 6.26%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.38 3.86%
McCormick & Co. (MKC) $95.68 2.87%
Raytheon Co. (RTN) $178.17 1.93%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $30.83 1.72%
L3 Technologies Inc (LLL) $181.24 1.71%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $37.81 1.68%
Andeavor (ANDV) $97.23 1.49%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $26.73 1.48%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $24.91 1.38%
S&P 500 - Fallers
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $36.09 -8.75%
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,883.08 -8.10%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $57.07 -7.06%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $13.49 -5.51%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $101.50 -5.12%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $23.39 -3.77%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $22.22 -3.48%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $64.41 -3.24%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $29.82 -3.09%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $23.89 -2.81%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $395.94 1.59%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $475.75 1.29%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $368.66 0.94%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $29.88 0.88%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $154.10 0.55%
Liberty Interactive Corporation - Series A Liberty Ventures (LVNTA) $60.56 0.53%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $91.08 0.44%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class C (LILAK) $26.53 0.38%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class A (LILA) $26.70 0.34%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $106.80 0.32%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,883.08 -8.10%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $57.07 -7.06%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $23.39 -3.77%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $22.22 -3.48%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $29.82 -3.09%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $169.30 -2.71%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $101.40 -2.45%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $27.36 -2.37%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $27.10 -2.20%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $53.37 -2.11%