US open: Stocks mixed as traders digest multiple data points

Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Wednesday as traders digested some key economic data.

As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.07% at 33,888.72, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.38% to 4,006.13 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.82% firmer at 11,186.53.

The Dow opened 22.13 points lower on Wednesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

Market participants were primarily focussed on the latest producer price index, which revealed wholesale prices undershot market expectations by a wide margin at the end of 2022. According to the Department of Labor, final demand prices fell at a seasonally adjusted month-on-month pace of 0.5% in December. Versus a year ago, final demand prices were ahead by 6.2%.

On another note, US retail sales softened by much more than expected towards the end of 2022. According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, retail sales volumes shrank by 1.1% month-on-month to reach $677.1bn.

Elsewhere on the macro front, industrial output weakened noticeably at the tail-end of 2022 as production of business equipment fell sharply. According to the Department of Commerce, total industrial production dropped in December at a month-on-month pace of 0.7%. December's drop comes on top of a downwards revision to the prior month's reading from -0.2% to -0.6%.

Still on data, manufacturers' and trade inventories in the US increased by 0.4% month-on-month in November, according to the Census Bureau, following a downwardly revised 0.2% uptick in October, matching market expectations.

Finally, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America revealed mortgage applications surged 27.9% in the week ended 13 January as interest rates dropped to their lowest level since September, and the National Association of Housebuilder's housing market index increased to 35 in January from 31 in December - the first rise in the index since December 2021.

In the corporate space, Charles Schwab fell short of earnings estimates with its fourth-quarter performance and revealed profits had slipped from record levels, and Microsoft confirmed its plans to axe roughly 10,000 jobs.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $137.99 1.51%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $332.21 1.43%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $58.06 1.15%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $353.45 1.01%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $186.61 0.87%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $100.73 0.82%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $258.34 0.81%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $181.35 0.48%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $241.38 0.43%
Visa Inc. (V) $223.50 0.22%

Dow Jones - Fallers

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $143.29 -1.31%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $148.60 -1.23%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $170.36 -1.16%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.33 -0.91%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $61.14 -0.88%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $271.78 -0.85%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $36.04 -0.78%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.53 -0.77%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $109.66 -0.72%
3M Co. (MMM) $125.78 -0.65%

S&P 500 - Risers

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $185.75 5.37%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $96.51 4.13%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $31.17 3.71%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $13.29 3.59%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $45.73 3.58%
Macy's Inc. (M) $23.66 3.32%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $250.97 3.25%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $27.67 3.23%
HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $54.06 3.16%
Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $39.55 2.83%

S&P 500 - Fallers

PNC Financial Services Group (PNC) $154.16 -4.75%
Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) $80.56 -3.51%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $40.87 -3.45%
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $97.88 -2.12%
Church Dwight Co Inc. (CHD) $83.27 -1.71%
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $45.63 -1.55%
ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $39.41 -1.55%
General Mills Inc. (GIS) $80.61 -1.52%
McCormick & Co. (MKC) $79.88 -1.50%
FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) $42.35 -1.49%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $185.75 5.37%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,100.84 2.88%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $58.59 2.83%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $252.88 2.78%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $212.05 2.72%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $426.95 2.64%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $400.45 2.63%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $492.73 2.61%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $177.37 2.55%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $345.76 2.51%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $40.87 -3.45%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $127.03 -2.75%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $58.95 -1.69%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $66.26 -1.13%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $84.61 -0.94%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.33 -0.91%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $36.04 -0.78%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $74.01 -0.74%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $11.35 -0.62%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $5.95 -0.42%