US open: Stocks lower as investors focus on earnings and Fed speakers
Wall Street stocks were were in the red early on Wednesday as market participants digested comments from the head of the central bank and thumbed over more corporate earnings.
As of 1450 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.15% at 34,106.61, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.24% to 4,154.08 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.22% weaker at 12,086.61.
The Dow opened 50.08 points lower on Wednesday, taking a small bite out of gains recorded in the previous session as investors zeroed in on a speech from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell before the Economic Club of Washington where he reiterating comments that raised hopes that the Fed will soon halt or pivot interest rate hikes.
Traders were looking to the central bank yet again on Wednesday, with John Williams, the head of the New York Federal Reserve, saying early on Wednesday that the 5-5.25% peak fed funds rate was still a good goal. Still to come Michael Barr, and Christopher Waller will deliver speeches at 1500 GMT and 1845 GMT, respectively.
On the macro front, mortgage applications surged 7.4% in the week ended 3 February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, rebounding from the previous week's 9% tumble. Applications for refinancing rose 17.7% and applications for purchases increased 3.1%.
Elsewhere, December wholesale inventories data will be published at 1500 GMT.
In the corporate space, Under Armour raised outlook after posting earnings and revenues that beat expectations, Yum! Brands topped expectations thanks to a solid performance by Taco Bell, CVS Health reported strong fourth-quarter results, and Fox delivered increased quarterly advertising revenues on the back of the FIFA World Cup and US midterm elections.
Walt Disney, Robinhood and Uber will report after the close.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $275.82 3.09%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $478.77 0.40%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $111.84 0.19%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $105.76 0.08%
American Express Co. (AXP) $178.71 0.01%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $163.34 -0.04%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $373.99 -0.11%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $135.64 -0.15%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.46 -0.22%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $122.67 -2.12%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $47.22 -1.30%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $321.94 -1.00%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $172.44 -0.95%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $264.92 -0.91%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $187.50 -0.80%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $60.10 -0.68%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $247.97 -0.68%
3M Co. (MMM) $116.16 -0.63%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $36.51 -0.61%
S&P 500 - Risers
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $59.92 11.43%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $25.78 6.66%
Western Union Co. (WU) $14.40 3.97%
Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) $94.18 3.59%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $275.82 3.09%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $88.59 3.04%
CME Group Inc. (CME) $181.81 2.26%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $17.33 2.21%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $226.01 1.93%
Linde Plc (LIN) $342.99 1.74%
S&P 500 - Fallers
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $4.07 -18.34%
Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (JKHY) $168.68 -7.04%
Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $42.43 -6.20%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $101.54 -6.02%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $101.19 -5.99%
Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $114.97 -5.99%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $83.90 -5.61%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $1,650.05 -4.23%
Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) $87.40 -4.15%
Assurant Inc. (AIZ) $130.40 -3.87%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $275.82 3.09%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $17.33 2.21%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $226.01 1.93%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $116.83 1.35%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $129.57 1.27%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $11.19 1.08%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $22.06 1.01%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $89.15 0.94%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $224.47 0.37%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $385.12 0.34%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $101.54 -6.02%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $101.19 -5.99%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $153.35 -4.29%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $2.40 -4.18%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $297.52 -3.57%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $14.14 -2.88%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $73.61 -2.63%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $38.84 -2.09%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $112.44 -1.79%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $118.50 -1.68%