US close: Stocks mixed amid strong tech earnings

dl new york city nyc ny us usa united states of america manhattan skyline city finance trading nyse dow jones sp dollar dollars usd federal reserve fed — New York CitySharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street ended the trading day in a mixed state on Wednesday, as a continued decline in First Republic Bank's shares fueled concerns about the banking sector.

Some solid earnings from major tech companies, however, helped to keep the Nasdaq Composite in positive territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.68% to close at 33,301.87, and the S&P 500 declined 0.38% to finish at 4,055.99.

Going the other way, the Nasdaq Composite managed to stay above water, gaining 0.47% to end the day at 11,854.35.

On the currency markets, the dollar was in the red against both sterling and the euro, falling by 0.47% on the pound to trade at 80.21p, and 0.61% on the common currency to 90.58 euro cents.

The dollar also saw a slight decline against the yen, retreating 0.07% to change hands at JPY 133.67.

“Tuesday seemed to herald the beginning of a much bigger sell-off, but the numbers from Alphabet and Microsoft have steadied the ship for now,” said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

“The question is now whether other big names this week can do the same, in which case equities might start May on the front foot.”

Mortgage market rebounds, durable goods orders surpass forecasts

On the economic front, the US mortgage market saw a rebound last week, with a 3.7% increase in applications in the week ended 21 April according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

That was a significant improvement from the 8.8% drop in the previous week.

Applications for home purchases grew by 4.6%, while applications for refinancing increased by 1.7%.

Elsewhere, orders for durable goods in the US surpassed expectations in March, largely due to a surge in orders for jet aircraft.

The Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders rose by a seasonally-adjusted 3.2% month-on-month, reaching $276.41bn.

That was well ahead of the consensus forecast for 1.0%.

Excluding transportation, orders were up a more modest 0.3% from February.

The increase was driven by a huge 78.4% gain in orders for non-defence aircraft and parts, totaling $19.67bn.

Finally on data, the US trade deficit with the rest of the world shrank unexpectedly in March, contracting by a seasonally-adjusted 8.1% to reach $84.6bn, according to the Commerce Department.

That was better than economists' projections for a $90bn deficit.

The visible trade deficit reduction was fueled by a 2.8% increase in exports, which reached $172.7bn, while imports were down by 1.0% to $257.3bn.

Chipotle sizzles, while Activision slides on CMA decision

In equities, Microsoft Corporation jumped 7.24% after announcing that it exceeded Wall Street's expectations in its most recent trading quarter.

The computing giant said the increase in revenues from its intelligent cloud business segment contributed to the strong results.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing saw a more modest gain of 0.42%, after reporting that its quarterly net losses had narrowed as revenues grew, driven by improved performance in its commercial aeroplane unit.

Tex-Mex takeaway operator Chipotle Mexican Grill sizzled with a 12.91% surge, as it beat Wall Street's expectations in the first quarter, thanks to new restaurant openings and a drop in wholesale avocado prices.

On the downside, Activision Blizzard tumbled by 11.45% in afternoon trading after the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) denied approval for Microsoft's contentious $69bn acquisition of the video game developer.

Both companies said they were planning on appealing the decision.

Google parent Alphabet was also in the red by 0.15%, despite reporting better-than-anticipated revenues and maiden profits from its cloud unit.

Finally, hotel conglomerate Hilton Worldwide Holdings experienced a decline of 3.41% despite raising its full-year profit guidance amid robust travel demand throughout the first quarter.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $295.37 7.24%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.05 0.59%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $191.54 0.45%
Boeing Co. (BA) $203.03 0.42%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $52.58 0.15%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $163.76 -0.01%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $125.86 -0.03%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $34.81 -0.23%
American Express Co. (AXP) $155.72 -0.26%