The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,597.05 on Wednesday with a loss of 59.34 points or -0.22%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,927.25 for a loss of 6.43 points or -0.22%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 8,102.01 for a loss of 18.81 points or -0.23%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 13.05 for a gain of 0.77 points or 6.27%.
Wednesday’s market movers
Stocks closed lower Wednesday as investors watched earnings from Caterpillar (CAT, Financial) and Boeing (BA, Financial) with some skepticism. Caterpillar beat revenue estimates by $140 million and earnings per share estimates by 8 cents, but investors were concerned over revenue growth. Boeing missed revenue estimates by $140 million and missed earnings per share estimates by 3 cents. Investors continue to remain concerned over the 737 Max. Other notable earnings for the day included AT&T (T, Financial), Facebook (FB, Financial), Microsoft (MSFT, Financial), Verizon (V, Financial), PayPal (PYPL, Financial) and Tesla (TSLA, Financial).
In commodities, oil prices were also lower after the International Energy Agency released a report showing slightly greater supply estimated than the market has been pricing in. Energy stocks led losses for the day in the S&P 500 with the sector down 1.74%.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased by 7.3% and the MBA’s 30-year mortgage rate average was reported at 4.46%.
- Oil inventories increased by 5.479 million barrels in the Energy Information Administration’s weekly report.
- The Treasury held an auction for five-year notes at a rate of 2.315%.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses:
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,588.13 for a gain of 3.04 points or 0.19%. The S&P 600 closed at 973.85 for a gain of 2.23 points or 0.23%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 10,108.48 for a gain of 18.90 points or 0.19%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9,781.57 for a gain of 24.78 points or 0.25%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,977.67 for a gain of 6.83 points or 0.35%; the S&P 100 at 1,297.02 for a loss of 4.54 points or -0.35%; the Russell 3000 at 1,725.52 for a loss of 2.91 points or -0.17%; the Russell 1000 at 1,621.91 for a loss of 3.17 points or -0.20%; the Wilshire 5000 at 30,247.30 for a loss of 53.41 points or -0.18%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 717.97 for a loss of 2.06 points or -0.29%.
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