US open: Stocks open in the red as investors take a breather
US stocks opened on Wednesday in negative territory as investors took a breather after indices hit record levels.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about nine points to 17,096 in early trading on what was expected to be a lacklustre day in terms of news-flow.
Of the few items of economic data due out, analysts said EIA crude oil stock figures were probably the most notable as they could impact crude prices. MBA mortgage applications were also on the agenda.
Craig Erlam at Alpari UK said: "We've seen plenty of volatility in oil prices recently, with geopolitical events putting upward pressure on prices and falling global demand driving them in the other direction.
"The latter is winning the battle at this stage, despite the occasional spikes, and if we see further evidence today that demand is on the decline, we could see that continue."
In the event, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Department of Energy's statistical arm, reported that US commercial crude oil inventories fell by 2.1m barrels from the previous week.
Aircraft from the United Arab Emirates and Egypt attacked militia forces in Libya in the past week, the Pentagon's spokesman said, opposing the intervention.
"We discourage other nations from taking part in Libya's issues through violence," spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters yesterday. "We want the issues solved in Libya to be done peacefully and through good governance and politics."
Iconic jewellery store chain Tiffany & Co unveiled a 16% rise in second-quarter profit led by stronger demand from the Americas and Asia and raised its profit forecast, while Smith & Wesson reported lower earnings.
Shares in Facebook were downgraded to 'neutral' from 'buy' at broker Janney Montgomery.
The value of equities globally has soared from $25trn in March 2009 to $66trn as of yesterday's close. Stocks were valued at $63trn at the 2007 peak, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
MannKind Corp gained 4.8% after broker Jefferies recommended buying the stock.
Industrial conglomerate United Technologies reaffirmed its forecast for earnings per share this year of between $6.75 and $6.85. The company also raised the size of its share repurchase programme to $1.35bn from $1.25bn.
Front month West Texas crude futures are edging higher by 0.22% to $94.07 per barrel on the NYMEX.
US 10-year Treasury yields are now slipping by two basis points to 2.37%.
S&P 500 - Risers
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $30.73 +3.12%
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) $25.58 +1.81%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $11.25 +1.75%
Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (PNW) $56.51 +1.72%
Waste Management Inc. (WM) $47.24 +1.44%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $6.78 +1.42%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $39.00 +1.31%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $61.41 +1.24%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $15.98 +1.20%
Sempra Energy (SRE) $103.68 +1.18%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $50.53 -3.22%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $55.80 -2.89%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $68.29 -2.18%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $207.07 -2.03%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $38.74 -1.90%
Tesoro Corp. (TSO) $63.61 -1.78%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $74.79 -1.54%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $69.97 -1.48%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UA) $69.87 -1.34%
Macy's Inc. (M) $61.77 -1.31%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $85.78 +0.78%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $29.37 +0.55%
AT&T Inc. (T) $34.64 +0.40%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.44 +0.39%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $94.54 +0.36%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $128.62 +0.29%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $108.27 +0.19%
General Electric Co. (GE) $26.04 +0.12%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $75.60 +0.11%
American Express Co. (AXP) $89.24 +0.10%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Visa Inc. (V) $215.77 -0.44%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $24.71 -0.40%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $192.31 -0.35%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.68 -0.34%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $93.82 -0.31%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $44.87 -0.30%
3M Co. (MMM) $144.21 -0.27%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $109.45 -0.21%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.51 -0.21%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $66.04 -0.18%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $11.25 +1.75%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $8.85 +1.55%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $39.00 +1.31%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $61.41 +1.24%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $3.59 +0.84%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $34.34 +0.82%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $74.95 +0.81%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $107.12 +0.80%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $22.39 +0.72%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $38.06 +0.71%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $50.53 -3.22%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $55.80 -2.89%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $74.79 -1.54%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $103.26 -1.20%
Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC) $44.51 -1.19%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $19.23 -1.16%
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $339.65 -0.97%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $64.14 -0.93%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $66.25 -0.79%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $475.21 -0.72%
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