The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 27,219.85 on Wednesday with a loss of 115.78 points or -0.42%. The S&P 500 closed at 2,984.42 for a loss of 19.62 points or -0.65%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 8,185.21 for a loss of 37.59 points or -0.46%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 13.62 for a gain of 0.76 points or 5.91%.
Wednesday’s market movers
U.S. indexes continued to sell off for a second day, closing lower on Wednesday. Bank of America (BAC, Financial) reported earnings from the big banks. Netflix (NFLX, Financial) was also the first of the FAANG stocks to report earnings after the closing bell and IBM (IBM, Financial) reported after the market’s close as well.
- Bank of America: Missed on revenue. Earnings per share beat by 3 cents.
- Netflix: On target revenue. Earnings beat by 4 cents.
- IBM: Missed on revenue. Earnings beat by 9 cents.
Technology stocks were a detractor for the day after top companies faced questions in antitrust hearings before Congress. Congressional leaders also reported a great deal of skepticism over Facebook’s (FB, Financial) new Libra announcement as David Marcus testified before the Senate Banking Committee in a two-day hearing. The Nasdaq 100 was down 0.48% on Wednesday and the S&P 500 technology sector was down 0.26%.
Economic reports affecting market trading included the following:
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased 1.1% and the MBA’s average 30-year mortgage rate increased to 4.12% from 4.04%.
- Housing starts decreased 0.9% in June to 1.253 million annually. Building permits decreased 6.1% to 1.22 million annually.
- The EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status report showed crude oil inventory down 3.116 million barrels.
- The Fed’s Beige Book showed economic expansion unchanged at modest. Overall, trade tariffs were a concern.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses:
- Caterpillar (CAT, Financial) -2.35%
- Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA, Financial) -2.23%
- United Technologies (UTX, Financial) -2.13%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,550.78 for a loss of 11.22 points or -0.72%. The S&P 600 closed at 940.88 for a loss of 7.35 points or -0.78%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 10,013.25 for a loss of 56.71 points or -0.56%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 9,477.83 for a loss of 60.25 points or -0.63%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,937.47 for a loss of 14.36 points or -0.74%; the S&P 100 at 1,319.85 for a loss of 8.32 points or -0.63%; the Nasdaq 100 at 7,888.76 for a loss of 38.31 points or -0.48%; the Russell 3000 at 1,754.00 for a loss of 11.00 points or -0.62%; the Russell 1000 at 1,653.53 for a loss of 10.26 points or -0.62%; the Wilshire 5000 at 30,583.87 for a loss of 193.77 points or -0.63%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 716.11 for a loss of -4.78 points or -0.66%.
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