US open: Stocks little changed following GDP reading

dl wall street st new york city nyc nyse stock exchange ny dow jones nasdaq sp finance us usa united states of america — Wall StreetSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks were little changed early on Wednesday as market participants digested third-quarter GDP figures and continued to monitor Covid-19 headlines in the lead-up to the Christmas break.

As of 1515 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.05% at 35,510.96, while the S&P 500 was 0.10% firmer at 4,654.06 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.01 weaker at 15,339.30.

The Dow opened 18.26 points higher on Wednesday after the blue-chip index reclaimed some losses on Tuesday.

The Covid-19 omicron variant was still firmly in focus on Wednesday after President Joe Biden urged Americans to get booster shots, stating those who did were "highly protected" against the coronavirus, and said that the White House would not be reintroducing any strict lockdown measures as a result of the fast-spreading new strain.

On the macro front, US mortgage applications fell 0.6% in the seven days ended 17 December, following a 4% slump in the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications to purchase a home fell 3.3%, while those to refinance a home loan rose 2.2%.

Elsewhere, US gross domestic product increased at a 2.3% annualised rate in the third quarter, according to the Commerce Department, with the economy on track to record its best full-year performance since 1984 despite an increased level of Covid-19 infections throughout the period. However, while the GDP growth was an upward revision to the 2.1% rate estimated in November, it was still the slowest pace seen since the second quarter of 2020.

On another note, the Chicago Federal Reserve's national activity index decreased to 0.37 in November from 0.75 in October, with all four of broad categories of indicators used to construct the index making deteriorating from October, even as three made positive contributions.

Still on data, existing-home sales rose 1.9% month-on-month in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.46m, according to the National Association of Realtors, with three of the four major US regions reporting growth in monthly sales, while the fourth region held steady.

Lastly, the Conference Board's latest consumer confidence reading showed an increase in December following an upward revision for November, with the index jumping to 115.8 to 111.9. The Present Situation Index, based on consumers' assessment of current business and labour market conditions, was relatively flat at 144.1, down from 144.4 in November, while the Expectations Index, based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labour market conditions, rose to 96.9 from 90.2.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Wednesday.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $50.50 1.08%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $173.75 0.44%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $328.24 0.29%
Boeing Co. (BA) $199.52 0.00%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $252.55 0.00%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $157.75 0.00%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $380.30 0.00%
Visa Inc. (V) $215.38 0.00%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.78 0.00%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $156.09 0.00%