US close: Stocks end a little weaker on Brexit woes, ahead of Fed
US stocks ended a touch lower on Tuesday as investors remained risk-averse amid worries about the possibility the UK might vote to leave the European Union and ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.3%, the S&P 500 slid 0.2% and the Nasdaq dipped 0.1%.
Polls this week showing growing support for Brexit ahead of the 23 June referendum weighed on investor sentiment.
According to the latest YouGov poll published in The Times on Tuesday, support for Brexit jumped by three percentage points to 46% over the latest week, while backing for ‘Remain’ lost another three percentage points to 39%.
Oil prices settled lower amid Brexit concerns, with West Texas Intermediate down 1.5% to $48.16 per barrel and Brent down 1.7% to $49.50.
Investors were also likely to be exercising caution as the Fed’s two-day policy meeting kicked off, with the Fed expected to stand pat on rates on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a better-than-expected report on US retail sales failed to lift spirits.The Commerce Department said sales rose 0.5% from the previous month versus expectations of a 0.3% gain.
"Today’s retail sales report was better than expected, indicating robust consumer spending. Of late, the one disappointing hard economic number (no surveys or sentiment indicators), was the nonfarm payrolls report, but that appears to be enough to keep the Fed on hold for now,” said CMC Markets’ Colin Cieszynski.
“That being said, any signals the Fed gives may attract significant attention. After the payroll report, Fed Chair Yellen talked up the economy saying not to read too much into one data point and hinting upcoming member projections could be significant. USD has been climbing toward 95.00 indicating traders still pricing in two rate hikes this year and stocks fell through the day.
“Fed members could use the statement (wording or number of dissenters), the projections (any change to GDP or inflation forecasts) or Chair Yellen’s press conference to signal whether they are still thinking about a July rate hike or not. Because of the upcoming Presidential election campaign, the Fed is unlikely to act in September or especially October so if the Fed delays now, the window for a hike may not re-open until December which would mean one increase at most this year. Because of this, any interest rate signalling could have a significant impact on trading in US stocks, bonds, USD, gold and other currencies."
On the corporate front, Revance Therapeutics tumbled after saying on Monday that a late-stage clinical study of its crow’s-feet treatment did not reach its main goal.
Baidu Inc. gained even after it cut its quarterly revenue forecast late on Monday, citing lower medical advertising on tighter regulation in China.
Financal services company Synchrony Financial tanked after disclosing expectations of higher charge-off rates.
E-commerce giant Alibaba ended in the black after saying it expects revenue growth of 48% in fiscal 2017.
S&P 500 - RisersPerrigo Company plc (PRGO) $108.13 +9.16%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $40.82 +3.45%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $18.77 +3.08%
Constellation Brands Inc. Class A (STZ) $157.12 +2.77%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $17.13 +2.70%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $37.40 +2.55%
Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $47.19 +2.16%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $38.41 +2.07%
General Electric Co. (GE) $30.44 +2.04%
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $82.98 +1.95%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Synchrony Financial (SYF) $26.45 -13.11%
Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) $64.43 -6.62%
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $39.88 -5.41%
Navient Corporation (NAVI) $12.15 -4.71%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $30.36 -4.53%
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) $42.09 -4.47%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $16.34 -4.44%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $14.23 -4.37%
American Express Co. (AXP) $61.07 -4.08%
Discover Financial Services (DFS) $53.27 -4.05%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
General Electric Co. (GE) $30.44 +2.04%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $83.35 +0.94%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $98.40 +0.85%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.99 +0.80%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $34.99 +0.72%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $70.95 +0.60%
Boeing Co. (BA) $130.50 +0.45%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $28.96 +0.42%
3M Co. (MMM) $167.61 +0.29%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $117.12 +0.28%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
American Express Co. (AXP) $61.07 -4.08%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $125.24 -2.03%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $62.08 -1.88%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $146.19 -1.64%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $54.12 -1.44%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $65.85 -1.35%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $101.28 -0.80%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $49.82 -0.64%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $74.86 -0.49%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $112.55 -0.40%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $18.77 +3.08%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $17.13 +2.70%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $37.40 +2.55%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $38.41 +2.07%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $40.11 +1.52%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $92.64 +1.50%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $152.98 +1.46%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $46.96 +1.38%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $81.05 +1.17%
Liberty Media Corporation - Series C (LMCK) $18.30 +0.99%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
American Airlines Group (AAL) $30.36 -4.53%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $32.52 -2.90%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $160.84 -1.66%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $131.22 -1.58%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $65.07 -1.57%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $43.22 -1.39%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $137.80 -1.37%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $214.96 -1.34%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $25.67 -1.16%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $241.70 -1.08%