Stock Market Stalls amid Mixed Set of Earnings
24-Apr-19 16:20 ET
Dow -59.34 at 26597.05, Nasdaq -18.81 at 8102.00, S&P -6.43 at 2927.25
briefing.com
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 declined 0.2% on Wednesday in a tight-ranged session. A mixed set of earnings reports, and some defensive positioning, provided little incentive to move higher after yesterday's record-setting day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also lost 0.2%, while the Russell 2000 gained 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite hit a new intraday high during the session but finished lower by 0.2%.
There was some defensive positioning in the market in front of key earnings reports and a policy decision from the Bank of Japan. U.S. Treasuries saw increased buying interest, which drove yields lower across the curve and underpinned the outperformance of the rate-sensitive real estate (+0.8%) and utilities (+0.6%) sectors.
At the same time, a further decline in Germany's Ifo Business Climate Index contributed to some cautious trading and weakness in the euro, which fell 0.6% against the dollar to 1.1157. The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.4% to 98.06 -- its highest level since May 2017. The 2-yr yield declined four basis points to 2.31%, and the 10-yr yield declined five basis points to 2.52%.
The S&P 500 energy sector (-1.9%) was the day's outright laggard. Selling was broad-based amid a decline in oil prices ($65.83/bbl, -0.50, -0.8%), which pulled back following some bearish inventory data.
There was also some concern about a potential bidding war following Occidental Petroleum's (OXY 62.00, -0.36, -0.6%) bid to acquire Anadarko Petroleum (APC 71.40, +7.41, +11.6%) for $76.00 per share in cash and stock. The proposal represents a 20% premium to Chevron's (CVX 118.28, -3.74, -3.1%) prior offer.
Like the broader market, the S&P 500 industrials sector (-0.3%) finished slightly lower amid a mixed set of earnings reports, which included those from Boeing (BA 375.46, +1.44, +0.4%), Caterpillar (CAT 137.73, -4.30, -3.0%), Northrop Grumman (NOC 280.00, -12.61, -4.3%), and Norfolk Southern (NSC 206.70, +5.03, +2.5%).
U.S. economic data was sparse on Wednesday. The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index fell 7.3% following a 3.5% decline in the prior week.
Looking ahead, investors will receive the weekly Initial and Continuing Claims report and Durable Orders for March on Thursday.
- Nasdaq Composite +22.1% YTD
- Russell 2000 +17.8% YTD
- S&P 500 +16.8% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average +14.0% YTD
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