The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 33,730.89 on Wednesday with a gain of 53.62 points or 0.16%. The S&P 500 closed at 4,124.66 for a loss of 16.93 points or -0.41%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 13,857.84 for a loss of 138.26 points or -0.99%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 16.99 with a gain of 0.34 points or 2.04%.
Wednesday's Market Movers
U.S. stocks closed mostly lower Wednesday, retreating from Tuesday's highs. Tech euphoria faded even as Coinbase (COIN, Financial) finally made its trading debut. The stock opened at a reference price of $250 and gained approximately 31% to close at around $328.
Wednesday also marked the beginning of first-quarter 2021 big bank earnings, with reports from JPMorgan (JPM, Financial), Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) and Wells Fargo (WFC, Financial).
- JPMorgan: Revenue of $32.3 billion increased 14.3% year over year and beat estimates by $1.99 billion. Q1 GAAP EPS of $4.50 beat estimates by $1.38. Stock was down -1.85%.
- Wells Fargo: Revenue of $18.06 billion increased 1.9% year over year and beat estimates by $510 million. Q1 GAAP EPS of $1.05 beat estimates by $0.33. Stock gained 5.53%.
- Goldman Sachs: Revenue of $17.7 billion increased 102.5% year over year and beat estimates by $5.04 billion. Q1 GAAP EPS of $18.60 beat estimates by $8.63. Stock gained 2.34%.
The S&P 500 financial sector gained 0.60% Wednesday. S&P 500 energy stocks gained for the day with the sector up 2.78% on oil price highs and demand optimism.
In other news:
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased by -3.7% following a decrease of -5.1%. The MBA's average 30-year mortgage rate decreased to 3.27% from 3.36%.
- Export and import price data was released. Export prices increased 2.1% in March and 9.1% year over year. Import prices increased 1.2% in march and 6.9% year over year.
- Crude oil inventory decreased by -7.0 million barrels, according to the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
- Fed Chair Powell discussed tapering possibilities in comments at an event sponsored by the Economic Club of Washington
- The Fed'S Beige Book showed moderate economic growth with noteworthy improvements from vaccines, stimulus spending and increased business activity.
Across the board:
- Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Financial)'s Covid-19 vaccine has been halted due to blood clot investigations. A federal advisory panel plans to meet to review the findings. The stock gained 0.28%.
- AstraZeneca's (AZN, Financial) vaccine has also been under review globally for blood clot concerns, with Denmark stopping dispensement. The stock gained 1.32% Wednesday.
- Moderna (MRNA, Financial) gained 6.89%.
- Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY, Financial) -12.21%.
- GameStop (GME, Financial) up 18.11%.
Small-Cap Stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 2,247.72 for a gain of 18.79 points or 0.84%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,339.36 for a gain of 12.61 points or 0.95%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 14,928.77 for a gain of 55.34 points or 0.37%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 11,061.29 for a gain of 118.15 points or 1.08%.
Other Notable Indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,680.59 for a gain of 13.01 points or 0.49%; the S&P 100 at 1,879.42 for a loss of 12.18 points or -0.64%; the Nasdaq 100 at 13,803.91 for a loss of 182.58 points or -1.31%; the Russell 3000 at 2,472.03 for a loss of 8.04 points or -0.32%; the Russell 1000 at 2,326.26 for a loss of 9.53 points or -0.41%; the Wilshire 5000 at 43,188.48 for a loss of 140.02 points or -0.32%; and the Dow Jones US Select Dividend Index at 833.82 for a gain of 6.22 points or 0.75%.
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