US close: Stocks lower as traders digest Nvidia earnings

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 Wednesday as market participants awaited earnings from AI-darling Nvidia after the close.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.39% at 41,091.42, while the S&P 500 lost 0.60% to 5,592.18 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.12% weaker at 17,556.03.

The Dow closed 159.08 points lower on Wednesday, reversing modest gains recorded so far this week that helped the blue-chip index eke out yet another record high.

Wednesday's primary focus was the latest batch of quarterly earnings from Nvidia, with traders hoping to gauge the sustainability of the broader tech and AI sector. The semiconductor giant reported earnings per share of $0.68 and quarterly revenues of $30.04bn, ahead of estimates of $0.64 per share and $28.7bn.

On the macro front, mortgage applications increased 0.5% week-on-week in the seven days ended 23 August, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, a marked turnaround when compared to the prior week's 10.1% drop. Applications to purchase a new home rose by 1%, while applications to refinance a mortgage slipped by 0.1%.

Elsewhere in the corporate space, retailer Nordstrom traded higher after posting Q2 adjusted earnings that came in ahead of expectations, while Calvin Klein owner PVH slumped on the back of disappointing guidance for the current quarter, and Salesforce beat earnings estimates and revealed that chief financial officer Amy Weaver will step down from the group.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

American Express Co. (AXP) $257.15 0.83%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $117.42 0.79%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $329.49 0.78%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $164.00 0.64%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $221.35 0.53%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.79 0.41%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $224.46 0.37%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $588.54 0.20%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.50 0.12%
3M Co. (MMM) $131.41 0.01%