US open: Stocks mixed as investors digest Powell comments

Major indices were mixed early on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 narrowly on track to snap its three-day losing streak.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.12% at 37,845.74, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.09% to 5,055.90 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.10% weaker at 15,848.97.

The Dow opened 46.77 points higher on Wednesday, extending modest gains recorded in the previous session after bond yields climbed on the back of comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, who said the central bank needed more confidence that inflation was on a downward trend before cutting interest rates.

At the open, the 10-year US Treasury yield was down more than three basis points at 4.640%, easing from its highest level in five months after Powell said recent economic data – such as three straight months of stronger-than-forecast inflation – had "clearly not" given the Fed greater confidence and instead indicate that it was likely to take longer than expected "to achieve that confidence".

Powell pushed back on market expectations for two or three rate cuts in 2024 – projections that were discussed by Fed officials at their latest meeting. "Right now, given the strength of the labour market and progress on inflation so far, it's appropriate to allow restrictive policy further time to work," he said.

In the corporate space, United Airlines traded higher on the back of a narrower-than-expected loss and a quarterly revenue beat, while JB Hunt shares headed south after falling short of expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Elsewhere, US Bancorp posted disappointing quarterly earnings and trimmed its lending income outlook on the back of deposit pressures, while Travelers shares suffered their biggest selloff in four years after missing quarterly profit estimates.

On the macro front, mortgage applications rose by 3.3% in the week ended 12 April, numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association of America showed, the sharpest increase in one month, following four consecutive weeks of muted applications. Applications to purchase a new home rose by 5%, while applications to refinance a home ticked up by 0.5%.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $480.13 2.40%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $403.82 1.75%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $94.42 1.10%
Visa Inc. (V) $273.72 0.87%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $157.63 0.86%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $126.14 0.86%
3M Co. (MMM) $91.59 0.59%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $57.16 0.53%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $266.96 0.50%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $60.13 0.49%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $206.82 -7.30%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $35.94 -0.89%
Boeing Co. (BA) $170.17 -0.22%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $17.61 -0.14%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $144.32 -0.09%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $359.71 -0.05%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $113.94 0.05%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $335.05 0.06%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $181.00 0.11%

S&P 500 - Risers

United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $46.36 11.71%
Globe Life Inc. (GL) $63.01 5.07%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.57 4.14%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $50.21 3.90%
Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $42.36 3.82%
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (CFG) $33.42 3.12%
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $769.28 3.02%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $73.66 2.86%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $26.09 2.80%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $50.76 2.73%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $210.55 -7.75%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $206.82 -7.30%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $170.13 -7.03%
ProLogis (PLD) $107.39 -6.41%
US Bancorp (USB) $39.46 -3.77%
Resmed Inc. (RMD) $178.10 -3.66%
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $105.46 -3.43%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $202.64 -3.27%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $673.21 -2.90%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $87.57 -2.76%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.57 4.14%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $264.01 2.50%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $17.21 1.77%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $72.32 1.77%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $16.61 1.71%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $907.97 1.55%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $156.47 1.34%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $158.07 1.33%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $84.72 1.24%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $20.69 1.22%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $210.55 -7.75%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $170.13 -7.03%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $910.33 -6.82%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $202.64 -3.27%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.98 -2.96%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $673.21 -2.90%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $936.82 -2.74%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $154.48 -1.67%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $241.59 -1.64%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $34.30 -1.55%