US open: Stocks mixed as investors digest multiple data points

Wall Street stocks were in the red at the opening bell on Wednesday, with interest rate and energy price concerns remaining in focus as traders digested a number of data points.

As of 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.10% at 33,435.86, while the S&P 500 fell 0.32% to 4,087.52 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.82% weaker at 12,026.30.

The Dow opened 33.48 points higher on Wednesday, taking a small bite out of losses recorded in the previous session.

Major indices were mixed at the open as traders continued to mull over the state of the global economy after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand hiked rates by 50 basis points overnight, stating inflation was still "too high and persistent".

Energy fears also continued to weigh on stocks after cartel OPEC+ said it will slash output by approximately 1.16m barrels of oil per day.

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell 4.1% in the week ended 31 March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, the first decline seen in over a month. Applications to refinance a home loan dropped 5% and applications to purchase a home loan were down 4%.

Elsewhere, private sector hiring in the US slowed last month, according to consultancy ADP, which revealed businesses in the States added 145,000 staff in March - down from a 261,000 person increase during the previous month and short of economists' forecasts for a rise of 210,000.

Still on data, the US trade deficit increased to $70.5bn in February, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the highest reading in four months and slightly above forecasts of $69.0bn, reflecting an increase in the goods deficit of $2.7bn to $93bn and an increase in the services surplus of $800.0m to $22.4bn. Total exports fell 2.7% from January to $251.2bn, while imports dropped 1.5% to $321.7bn.

Finally, the Institute of Supply Management's services PMI fell to 51.2 in March, down from 55.1 in February and well and truly short of expectations for a reading of 54.5. It also marked the slowest growth in the services sector in three months.

In the corporate space, Johnson & Johnson shares rose in early trading after agreeing to pay $8.9bn over the next 25 years in order to settle allegations that its talc-based products caused cancer.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $163.47 3.14%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $252.98 2.20%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $110.68 1.70%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $500.32 1.43%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $148.60 0.93%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $62.78 0.91%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $52.23 0.79%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $151.40 0.78%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $284.15 0.66%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $169.59 0.57%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $122.54 -0.93%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $164.27 -0.82%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $32.86 -0.73%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $53.87 -0.72%
American Express Co. (AXP) $161.41 -0.71%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $285.42 -0.61%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $293.44 -0.51%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $127.98 -0.34%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $196.69 -0.26%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $321.85 -0.25%

S&P 500 - Risers

FedEx Corp. (FDX) $234.41 3.50%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.71 3.37%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $163.47 3.14%
HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $45.87 2.43%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $130.48 2.40%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $41.84 2.30%
Sealed Air Corp. (SEE) $46.82 2.27%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $252.98 2.20%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $280.66 1.97%
Entergy Corp. (ETR) $109.57 1.95%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $200.53 -4.31%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $23.17 -3.50%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $116.78 -2.78%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $382.29 -2.69%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $267.18 -2.68%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $68.97 -2.58%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $93.48 -2.49%
Deere & Co. (DE) $388.13 -2.40%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $79.75 -2.32%
Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) $94.44 -2.27%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $252.98 2.20%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $280.66 1.97%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $11.13 1.74%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $83.44 1.61%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $105.36 1.31%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $832.57 1.27%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $317.99 1.14%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $147.95 1.12%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $73.46 1.11%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $192.52 1.01%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $116.78 -2.78%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $40.68 -2.77%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $382.29 -2.69%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $267.18 -2.68%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $68.97 -2.58%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $187.64 -2.57%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $79.75 -2.32%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $198.24 -2.15%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $493.57 -2.13%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $145.67 -1.95%