US open: Stocks mixed as Dow attempts to claw back losses

Wall Street stocks were mixed early on Wednesday as the blue-chip Dow Jones attempted to claw back some of yesterday's losses.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.25% at 41,040.45, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.04% to 5,526.83 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.39% weaker at 17,070.10.

The Dow opened 103.52 points higher on Wednesday, doing little to reverse losses recorded in the previous session as traders returned from the Labor Day long weekend to fresh manufacturing data that seemingly indicated that US economic growth had slowed.

On the macro front for Wednesday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed that the US trade deficit had widened to $78.8bn in July, the largest gap in more than two years, up from June's $73.0bn shortfall. Exports increased 0.5% to a record high of $266.6bnm while imports surged 2.1% to $345.4bn.

Elsewhere, US factory orders rose by 5% in July to $592.1bn, according to the Census Bureau, rebounding from June's 3.3% decline and beating market forecasts for a 4.7% increase.

On another note, the Labor Department said job openings had fallen by 237,000 to 7.67m in July, down from June's downwardly revised reading of 7.91m and missing market expectations for a reading of 8.1m. July's print was also the weakest reading since January 2021.

Finally, US mortgage applications increased by 1.60% week-on-week in the seven days ended 30 August, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.

In the corporate space, Nvidia shares traded lower after Bloomberg revealed that the Justice Department had issued the chipmaker with subpoenas, while Dick's Sporting Goods smashed earnings estimates but issued cautious guidance ahead of November's Federal election, and Dollar Tree shares slumped after the discount retailer missed on earnings and lowered full-year guidance.

Hewlett-Packard will report earnings after the close on Wednesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $164.15 1.90%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $607.11 1.41%
3M Co. (MMM) $132.25 1.07%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $288.38 1.00%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $491.96 0.92%
Visa Inc. (V) $281.08 0.91%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $229.94 0.91%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $202.74 0.73%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $168.37 0.72%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $52.21 0.54%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $79.77 -1.91%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $218.79 -1.79%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $114.99 -1.36%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.85 -1.24%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $328.42 -0.63%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $407.34 -0.51%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $49.81 -0.49%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $246.94 -0.45%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $76.83 -0.44%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $339.34 -0.26%

S&P 500 - Risers

Humana Inc. (HUM) $380.19 4.58%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $59.69 4.03%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $4.89 3.93%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $74.60 3.25%
Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ) $73.49 2.94%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $140.73 2.77%
Ball Corp (BALL) $65.65 2.74%
Medtronic Plc (MDT) $91.32 2.65%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $86.28 2.57%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $20.78 2.39%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $65.96 -19.22%
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $30.56 -7.79%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $75.26 -6.19%
VF Corp. (VFC) $18.09 -3.93%
Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) $12.03 -3.90%
Amphenol Corp. (APH) $60.00 -3.09%
Dollar General Corp (DG) $81.81 -2.38%
Elevance Health Inc. (ELV) $550.45 -2.11%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $79.77 -1.91%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $218.79 -1.79%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $217.77 3.40%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $74.60 3.25%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $79.99 2.55%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $98.74 2.03%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $20.00 1.81%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $19.59 1.77%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $77.06 1.65%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $9.99 1.39%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $165.33 1.28%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $221.47 1.26%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $65.96 -19.22%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $818.81 -3.14%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.55 -1.91%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $218.79 -1.79%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $3.07 -1.76%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $187.51 -1.31%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $253.01 -1.28%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $82.35 -1.27%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $181.04 -1.27%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.85 -1.24%