US open: Wall Street mixed despite positive data

The main market indices on Wall Street were trading on a mixed note early on Wednesday despite the release of data showing another drop in oil inventories and stronger-than-expected demand for new homes.

At 1704 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 0.13% or 26.14 points at 21,400.14, while the S&P 500 was flat at 2,436.86 points and the Nasdaq Composite was higher by 0.53% or 33.12 points to 6,221.43.

Commercial US oil inventories declined by 2.5m barrels in the week ending 16 June to reach 509.1m, according to the Department of Energy, which was more than the 2.0m drop projected by analysts.

Despite that, front month West Texas Intermediate futures were down by 0.44% to $43.32 per barrel following a brief foray into the black.

WTI prices hit a nine-month low during the previous session, entering bear-market territory after having declined by over 20% from their most recent peak.

Total new home sales grew by 1.1% month-on-month to reach an annualised pace of 5.62m, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Economists had forecast a rate of 5.53m.

In corporate news, shares in open-source software company Red Hat hit levels not seen since the Internet bubble of 2000 after reporting first quarter sales and earnings per share of $676.8m and 56 cents, respectively.

From a sector standpoint the best performing areas of the market were: Recreational Services (1.35%), Footwear (1.34%), Health Care (1.12%) and Software (1.11%).

Stock in AMD was also a top gainer after the chip-maker unveiled its Epyc chip for servers.

Another software company, Oracle Corp was slated to report earnings after the close.

Dow Jones - Risers

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $34.00 1.31%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $52.17 1.18%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $65.27 1.15%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $76.37 1.10%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $70.49 0.82%
Boeing Co. (BA) $199.42 0.55%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $134.83 0.45%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $183.98 0.39%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $121.95 0.36%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $145.37 0.25%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $105.06 -1.85%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.28 -1.65%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $105.17 -1.23%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.43 -1.11%
General Electric Co. (GE) $27.88 -0.89%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.26 -0.76%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $223.66 -0.64%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $81.88 -0.52%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $154.17 -0.50%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $82.72 -0.48%

S&P 500 - Risers

CA Inc. (CA) $35.96 13.88%
Red Hat Inc. (RHT) $98.77 9.79%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $520.36 5.05%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $132.21 4.66%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $131.26 3.99%
Altaba Inc. (AABA) $54.50 3.65%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $275.67 3.64%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $11.41 3.35%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $31.83 3.24%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $91.00 3.14%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $10.31 -6.44%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $50.77 -5.05%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $1.16 -4.92%
Signet Jewelers Ltd (SIG) $56.87 -4.42%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $7.85 -4.27%
Apache Corp. (APA) $45.72 -4.19%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $4.70 -4.18%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $50.35 -3.95%
Dover Corp. (DOV) $78.07 -3.56%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $28.13 -3.40%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

CA Inc. (CA) $35.96 13.88%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $132.48 6.34%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $97.11 5.14%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $520.36 5.05%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $132.21 4.66%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $131.26 3.99%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $40.38 3.80%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $275.67 3.64%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $54.87 3.33%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $31.83 3.24%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $218.34 -2.97%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.28 -1.65%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $56.94 -1.35%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $25.21 -1.18%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $68.13 -1.17%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $24.45 -1.13%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $63.27 -1.13%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $86.62 -1.11%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $293.53 -1.00%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $56.25 -0.96%