US close: Stocks sharply lower as investors look to take profits

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

Wall Street stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday, snapping major averages' recent positive run as investors took some profits.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.27% at 37,082.00, while the S&P 500 slipped 1.47% to 4,698.35 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.50% weaker at 14,777.94.

The Dow closed 475.92 points lower on Wednesday after registering its ninth-straight winning session a day earlier.

Even with the losses, all three major averages were in the green for December, and the year as a whole, as market participants continued to look ahead to multiple rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in 2024.

In focus on Wednesday, Red Sea concerns were still weighing on sentiment despite a US pledge to assemble a cross-country naval force in the region. Brent crude was 0.91% stronger at $79.95 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was changing hands 1.01% higher at $74.69 a barrel.

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell 1.5% in the week ended 15 December, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, dropping from a 7.4% surge a week earlier and halting a six-week run of increased applications. Applications to refinance a home dropped by 2% but remained 18% higher year-on-year, while applications to purchase a home were 1% lower week-on-week but also remained 18% higher on an annualised basis.

Elsewhere, US existing home sales increased month-on-month in November for their first increase in five months. According to the National Association of Realtors, rose 0.8% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 3.82m units in November, rebounding from 3.79m in October - the lowest level since August 2010. The figures came in ahead of forecasts of 3.77m, principally due to a fall in mortgage rates.

Finally, consumer confidence in the US jumped in December, according to the Conference Board, as perceptions of current and future conditions turned more optimistic. The closely watched monthly release of the consumer confidence index rose to 110.7 this month, up from 101.0 in November, which was revised down from initial estimates. However, the consensus estimate was for a reading closer to 104.5.

In the corporate space, logistics firm FedEx was in the red on Wednesday after it cut revenue forecasts amid weaker demand, while General Mills also lowered its full-year sales forecasts as a result of softer demand, and recreation vehicle firm Winnebago beat on revenues with its latest quarterly figures but fell short on profits.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $288.90 -0.60%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $54.58 -0.62%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $370.62 -0.71%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $37.30 -0.72%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $49.80 -0.76%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $150.25 -0.92%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $160.24 -0.93%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $348.66 -0.97%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $121.43 -0.99%