US close: Stocks mixed after raft of economic data

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Wall Street closed in a mixed state on Wednesday, as market participants thumbed over a number of major data points.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.14% at 35,312.53, while the S&P 500 eked out gains of 0.03% to 4,524.09 and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.33% firmer at 15,309.38.

The Dow closed 48.2 points lower on Wednesday, extending modest losses recorded in the previous session.

A number of data points were in focus earlier in the session, with mortgage applications falling in the seven days ended 27 August, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, dropping 2.4% week-on-week as the average contract interest rate for traditional 30-year mortgages was unchanged at 3.03%.

Elsewhere, private sector employment in the US grew much less than expected in August as the spread of the Delta variant took its toll, according to the latest data from the ADP.

Employment rose by 374,000 from July, versus expectations for a 613,000 increase. Meanwhile, the July total of jobs added was revised from 330,000 to 326,000.

Still on data, US factory sector activity continued growing at a brisk clip last month, according to IHS Markit's manufacturing sector purchasing managers' index, which edged down from a reading of 61.2 in July to 61.1 for August.

Economists had expected the headline index to have remained unchanged from the month before.

Last month's ISM manufacturing PMI came in at 59.9%, an increase of 0.4% month-on-month, indicating expansion in the overall economy for the 15th month in a row.

The new orders index came to 66.7%, up 1.8 points, while the production index registered 60%, a 1.6 percentage point increase.

All of the six biggest manufacturing industries - computer and electronic products, fabricated metal products, chemical products, food, beverage and tobacco products, transportation equipment, and petroleum and coal products - registered "moderate to strong growth" in August.

Lastly, construction spending across the US rose 0.3% to $1.56bn in July, according to the Census Bureau, ahead of estimates for a print of 0.2%, driven by a 0.3% uptick in private construction and a 0.7% increase in public building works.

For the calendar year, construction was up 6.2% at $883.2bn.

In the corporate space, Campbell Soup Company closed up 2.06% after it issued full-year profit guidance below expectations, but also reported a second-quarter revenue beat.

Gunmaker Smith & Wesson was ahead 3.11%, ahead of its earnings report after the closing bell.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $183.48 1.20%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $268.32 1.15%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $143.84 1.02%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $56.69 0.67%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $152.51 0.45%
Visa Inc. (V) $230.12 0.45%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $173.74 0.35%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $238.15 0.29%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $417.35 0.26%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $413.66 0.04%