US open: Traders have another go at 22,000 on the Dow

Apple's results powered another assault by the Dow Industrials on the psychological 22,000 point mark, in what some traders said would mark another major milestone for US markets should that level be overcome.

At 1648 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the most sensitive of the major stockmarket averages to the US dollar, was higher by 0.08% or 16.34 points to 21,979.94, although the S&P 500 was off by 0.37% or 9.59 points to 2,466.72 and the Nasdaq Composite by 0.74% or 47.53 points to 6,317.96.

Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, said: "It's not just Apple - earnings are delivering across the board for US equities. Whatever is happening in Washington is not bothering the stock market. It is hitting the dollar of course. [...] The punch bowl is still half full."

"The Dow is now up more than 11% this year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up more than 18%. But August is usually not a great month for stocks – up 5 times in the last 20 - so there is caution about how long this can be sustained beyond earnings season euphoria."

Just after the opening bell, the Dow clambered as high as 22,036.10 but was quickly knocked off its perch by Department of Energy data revealing a smaller than expected drawdown in US crude oil stores.

According to the Energy Information Administration, the DoE's statistical arm, commercial US crude oil inventories shrank by 1.5m barrels during the week ending on 28 July, instead of by the 2.96m barrels expected by analysts.

That triggered a 0.61% drop in West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures to $48.86 a barrel.

On the economic front, private sector payrolls increased by 178,000 in July, ADP's monthly survey showed.

That was less than the 195,000 gain which economists had projected; however, an upwards revision to June's reading from 158,000 to 191,000 meant Wednesday's report was in fact stronger-than-expected.

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, "The American job machine continues to operate in high gear. Job gains are broad-based across industries and company sizes, with only manufacturers reducing their payrolls. At this pace of job growth, unemployment will continue to quickly decline."

To take note, in a speech on Wednesday Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester said she continued to back continued gradual policy tightening by the US central bank.

Market participants were also waiting on a speech from San Francisco Fed president John Williams at 2030 BST.

In corporate news, Apple shares were up 4.57% - after hitting a record high in after-hours trading on Tuesday night - as its earnings topped estimates. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.67 versus estimates of $1.57 and revenue of $45.4bn compared with expectations of $44.89bn.

Elsewhere, Match Group was also higher despite having posted disappointing second-quarter results.

Shares of AMC Entertainment crashed 24% afetr the company issued a warning on its second quarter earnings.

Auto Nation was also under pressure after the car dealer posted lower than expected third quarter earnings per share of 86 cents.

Cardinal Health was another top-faller after offering downbeat guidance for its earnings per share in 2018.

After the close, Tesla, Fitbit and American International Group were set to report.

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $156.83 4.52%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $120.00 0.94%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $155.26 0.79%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $193.27 0.54%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $129.70 0.38%
3M Co. (MMM) $203.95 0.38%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $80.45 0.35%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $150.36 0.34%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $80.76 0.32%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $110.87 0.08%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $108.59 -1.83%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $71.71 -1.20%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $31.32 -1.04%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $32.76 -0.95%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.48 -0.85%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $63.42 -0.78%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $144.51 -0.54%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $82.22 -0.53%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $59.53 -0.52%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $112.60 -0.44%

S&P 500 - Risers

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $193.76 12.46%
FMC Corp. (FMC) $82.88 7.15%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $16.65 4.78%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $156.83 4.52%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $241.15 4.50%
Molson Coors Brewing Co. Class B (TAP) $92.53 3.74%
Ametek Inc. (AME) $63.89 3.68%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $51.70 3.42%
Allstate Corp (The) (ALL) $93.81 3.09%
Extra Space Storage (EXR) $81.45 2.72%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $144.68 -11.39%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $18.39 -9.43%
Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) $70.06 -9.40%
DaVita Inc (DVA) $59.32 -7.50%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $26.55 -5.92%
GGP Inc (GGP) $21.69 -5.86%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $46.56 -4.87%
Assurant Inc. (AIZ) $101.29 -4.68%
AutoNation Inc. (AN) $40.22 -4.17%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $83.67 -4.02%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $193.76 12.46%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $156.83 4.52%
Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $251.88 1.41%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $24.58 0.82%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $23.14 0.70%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $209.49 0.64%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class A (LILA) $25.97 0.58%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $55.01 0.52%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $28.40 0.21%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $63.16 0.14%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $83.67 -4.02%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $57.13 -4.02%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $151.18 -3.99%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $296.27 -3.93%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $34.38 -3.24%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $37.35 -3.20%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $42.73 -3.11%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $42.64 -3.09%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $125.38 -3.01%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $60.71 -2.71%