US close: Stocks register modest gains despite heightened Middle East tensions

dl nyse new york stock exchange new york city nyc wall street wall st nasdaq markets trading finance unsplash — Sharecast / David Vives via Unsplash

Major indices were in the green at the close of trading on Wednesday despite renewed fears of a full-scale ground war in the Middle East.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.09% at 42,196.52, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.01% to 5,709.54 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.08% firmer at 17,925.12.

The Dow closed 39.55 points higher on Wednesday, taking a modest bite out of losses recorded in the previous session.

Oil prices were in focus on Wednesday, continuing to climb as worries mounted that conflict was set to spread across the Middle East following Israel's ground invasion of Lebanon and Iran's missile attack on Israel led to renewed fears that the region was on course for full-scale regional conflict. International benchmark Brent crude was up 1.48% at $74.65 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was trading 1.55% higher at $70.91.

Also drawing an amount of investor attention, private sector employment in the US rose more than expected in September, according to figures released on Wednesday by ADP. Employment increased by 143,000 from August, versus expectations for a 125,000 jump. Meanwhile, August's gain was revised to 103,000 from 99,000. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees shed 8,000 jobs, while medium businesses with between 50 and 499 employees added 64,000 jobs and large businesses with more than 500 employees created 86,000 jobs.

Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications fell by 1.3% week-on-week in the seven days ended 27 September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, the first drop in more than a month. Applications to refinance a mortgage fell 3% but remained 186% higher than at the same time a year earlier, while applications to purchase a home ticked up 1% week-on-week.

In the corporate space, Nike shares were down after the footwear giant withdraw its full-year guidance, while Tesla shares headed south on the back of delivery numbers that fell short of expectations.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $280.83 3.68%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $594.36 1.90%
American Express Co. (AXP) $271.14 0.95%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $150.96 0.84%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $394.42 0.52%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $8.74 0.46%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $492.38 0.45%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $227.22 0.45%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $220.02 0.31%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $410.27 0.30%