US open: Stocks head south as oil prices rise

Wall Street stocks were in the red early on Wednesday as both rising oil prices and elevated bond yields remained in focus.

As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.70% at 34,564.94, while the S&P 500 was 0.35% weaker at 4,495.85 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.05% softer at 14,101.97.

The Dow opened 242.52 points lower on Wednesday, all but erasing gains recorded in the previous session.

Oil prices were in focus early on Wednesday, with Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate futures both up more than 5% at $115.05 and $121.80 per barrel, respectively, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note eased off slightly from the previous session's high but remained elevated at approximately 2.362%.

Market participants also continued to digest the latest headlines on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling for more pressure to be applied on Russia from other nations as the conflict looked set to be entering a stalemate.

On the macro front, mortgage applications sunk 8.1% in the week ended 18 March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as mortgage rates surged to their highest level in three years. Applications to refinance a home loan declined 14.4%, while those to purchase slipped 1.5% as the average fixed 30-year mortgage rate increased by 23 basis points to 4.50% - the highest since early 2019.

Elsewhere, sales of new US single-family homes unexpectedly fell in February, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Commerce Department. New home sales declined by 2% from January to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 772,000. Analysts had been expecting a level of 810,000. Meanwhile, the median price of a new home was $400,600, down from $427,400 in January.

In the corporate space, cereal maker General Mills raised full-year sales and profit forecasts on Wednesday on the back of higher prices elevated demand for food at home, while Winnebago reported a 39% jump in second-quarter revenues.

Dow Jones - Risers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $135.13 1.53%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $80.40 1.39%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $170.93 1.25%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $165.57 0.90%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.69 0.63%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $224.04 0.60%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.20 0.39%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $236.89 0.18%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $211.04 -3.29%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $320.08 -2.93%
Boeing Co. (BA) $186.62 -2.31%
American Express Co. (AXP) $187.70 -1.90%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $46.76 -1.42%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.38 -1.40%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $338.76 -1.24%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $141.26 -0.95%
3M Co. (MMM) $148.69 -0.83%
Visa Inc. (V) $216.76 -0.78%

S&P 500 - Risers

Mosaic Company (MOS) $68.11 3.69%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $96.62 3.24%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $42.50 3.16%
Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $26.36 3.07%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $25.41 3.04%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $147.94 2.74%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $403.60 2.70%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $61.22 2.65%
Hess Corp. (HES) $104.21 2.58%
General Mills Inc. (GIS) $64.24 2.48%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $422.74 -9.37%
Resmed Inc. (RMD) $234.57 -8.03%
Teleflex Inc. (TFX) $328.38 -5.33%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $83.95 -4.13%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $14.24 -3.68%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $108.93 -3.56%
Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) $42.24 -3.43%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $209.46 -3.32%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $211.04 -3.29%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $442.34 -3.21%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $1,027.40 3.36%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $403.60 2.70%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $96.53 1.92%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $65.69 1.48%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $170.93 1.25%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $6.49 1.17%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,228.07 1.07%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $155.73 0.74%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.69 0.63%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $38.17 0.58%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $422.74 -9.37%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $209.46 -3.32%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $442.34 -3.21%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $277.87 -2.99%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $78.98 -2.85%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $463.79 -2.56%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $540.33 -2.20%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $87.22 -2.19%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $89.76 -2.09%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $674.39 -2.08%