US close: Stocks head south as recession fears resurface

dl nyse new york stock exchange wall st street city finance dow jones nasdaq sp finance dollar dollars us usa united states of america 2 — New York Stock ExchangeSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks closed lower on Tuesday as traders digested a number of data points and recession fears returned to the forefront.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.12% at 32,394.25, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.16% to 3,971.27 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.45% weaker at 11,716.08.

The Dow closed 37.83 points lower on Tuesday, taking a modest bite out of gains recorded in the previous session.

Rising bond yields were in focus throughout the session, with the two-year note breaking above 4% yet again, weighing on tech stocks and, as a result, the Nasdaq. Investors continue to fear that higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve may very well tip the US economy into a recession.

IG's Chris Beauchamp said: "While the banking crisis seems to have subsided, stocks have been unable to find a reason to push higher this afternoon. The return of recession fears further dims the appeal of equities, and with tech stocks down sharply this afternoon it looks like there isn’t much chance of further upside for now."

Multiple macro points were in focus on Wednesday, with an advance reading of the Census Bureau's goods trade balance revealing the US trade deficit widened from a revised print of $91.09bn in January to $91.63bn in February, driven by weakening global demand stemming from the cost of living crunch and heightened borrowing costs.

On another note, an advance reading of February's wholesale inventories report revealed wholesale inventories increased 0.2% month-on-month, rebounding from an upwardly revised 0.5% drop in January. According to the Census Bureau, inventories were up 0.6% for durables, while non-durable inventories decreased 0.4%,

Elsewhere, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose from 103.4 in February to 104.2 in March, ahead of preliminary expectations for a reading of 101.0. "Driven by an uptick in expectations, consumer confidence improved somewhat in March, but remains below the average level seen in 2022," said the Conference Board's Ataman Ozyildirim. "While consumers feel a bit more confident about what's ahead, they are slightly less optimistic about the current landscape."

Finally, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's US housing index increased to 393.17 points in January, up from 392.39 points in December.

In the corporate space, transatlantic pharmacy giant Walgreens Boots Alliance reported second quarter results that came in line with expectations as it said it was on track to meet full-year guidance, while Cholula hot sauce maker McCormick beat quarterly estimates as higher prices pushed sales to a record high despite volume declines.

After the close, semiconductor giant Micron Technology warned that third-quarter revenues were on track to tumble almost 60% year-on-year but said artificial intelligence will boost sales in 2025.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $33.82 2.67%
Boeing Co. (BA) $204.96 2.19%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $52.90 1.75%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $159.49 1.17%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $220.16 0.99%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $275.85 0.73%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $238.48 0.73%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $192.43 0.54%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.29 0.38%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $128.88 0.30%