US open: Stocks lower ahead of debt ceiling talks, mixed data weighs

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Sharecast News | 16 May, 2023

Stocks on Wall Street were trading modestly lower as investors kept an eye out for any headlines from the debt ceiling negotiations scheduled for later on Tuesday.

At 1523 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.71% lower at 33,112.60, the S&P 500 was off by 0.39% to 4,120.17 and the Nasdaq Composite was drifting lower by 0.11% to 12,351.58.

But a mixed batch of economic data and a weaker-than-expected update out of do-it-yourself giant Home Depot were also dragging on sentiment.

So too was a fresh warning from US Treasury chief, Janet Yellen, who said that the US economy was hanging in the balance if Congress didn't raise the debt ceiling.

Capturing the mood, Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "As the clock ticks down, volatility on markets is expected to tick up.

"The S&P 500 ended up in positive territory but weakness is set to pervade trading today amid nervousness about the precarious budget situation."

Industrial production and retail sales data for April both undershot forecasts.

A jump in auto production drove a 0.5% month-on-month gain in the former, but economists said that tailwind would prove short-lived.

Retail control group sales on the other hand rose by 0.7% on the month , beating forecasts for an increase of 0.3%, although headline sales came in below the consensus forecast.

For Pantheon Macroeconomics, April's rise was only a "bounce", while for others they were simply weak in inflation adjusted terms.

More positively was the news from the NAHB's, whose index of homebuilder confidence surprised to the upside, printing at 50 for May, versus 45 in April (consensus: 45), on the back of low existing inventories.

On the corporate front, Home Depot was down by 2% after the retailer posted sales that fell well short of estimates for the latest quarter and cut its full-year sales guidance, citing slower demand.

In the background, Cleveland Fed boss, Loretta Mester, said in a speech that the monetary authority could not do much to fix slow long-term economic growth but that by curbing inflation it could "do its part".

Her peers at the N.Y. and Dallas Fed banks were scheduled to deliver speeches at 1715 BST and 2015 BST, respectively.

Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $312.10 0.85%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $172.51 0.26%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $156.36 0.22%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $203.68 0.17%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $321.62 -0.14%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $116.18 -0.16%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $295.40 -0.17%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $123.13 -0.18%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $159.19 -0.23%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $116.30 -2.95%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $281.87 -2.31%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $154.31 -1.84%
3M Co. (MMM) $98.70 -1.78%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $51.36 -1.72%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $91.29 -1.69%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $208.14 -1.49%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $31.17 -1.03%
Visa Inc. (V) $230.47 -1.01%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $231.20 -1.00%

S&P 500 - Risers

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $101.42 4.13%
Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) $91.96 3.19%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $93.79 1.69%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $118.92 1.68%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $118.46 1.67%
Transdigm Group Inc. (TDG) $820.68 1.55%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $6.66 1.37%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $112.68 1.33%
Baxter International Inc. (BAX) $43.32 1.17%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $557.99 1.04%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Mohawk Inds Inc. (MHK) $92.19 -4.47%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.73 -4.37%
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $126.16 -3.92%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $14.55 -3.68%
Masco Corp. (MAS) $50.45 -3.67%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $7.64 -3.66%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $13.39 -3.36%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $43.63 -3.31%
Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) $76.51 -3.26%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $83.33 -3.19%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $93.79 1.69%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $118.92 1.68%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $118.46 1.67%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $188.07 1.41%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $6.66 1.37%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $112.68 1.33%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $557.99 1.04%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $312.10 0.85%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $407.48 0.84%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $291.87 0.81%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.89 -12.68%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $10.08 -10.16%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $91.67 -3.69%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $43.63 -3.31%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $16.00 -2.50%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $503.25 -2.47%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $33.42 -2.39%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $61.01 -2.16%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $171.79 -2.14%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $17.14 -2.11%

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