The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 27,821.09 on Wednesday with a loss of 112.93 points or -0.40%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,108.46 for a loss of 11.72 points or -0.38%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 8,526.73 for a loss of 43.93 points or -0.51%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 12.78 for a loss of 0.080 points or -0.62%.
Wednesday’s market movers
Trade worries and the Federal Open Market Committee’s minutes were detractors on Wednesday. President Trump threatened to raise tariffs for Chinese goods if a deal can’t be arranged. Minutes from the FOMC’s October meeting also showed that worries over declining economic signals were easing. Since the October meeting, Fed officials have mostly been reporting that economic data does not support the need for another rate cut.
Investors continued to watch retail earnings this week. On Wednesday, Lowe’s (LOW, Financial), L Brands (LB, Financial) and Target (TGT, Financial) all reported.
- Lowe’s (LOW, Financial): Revenue of $17.39 billion decreased 0.2% year over year and missed estimates by $300 million. GAAP earnings of $1.36 per share beat estimates by 1 cent and third-quarter non-GAAP earnings of $1.41 beat estimates by 6 cents.
- L Brands (LB, Financial): Revenue of $2.68 billion decreased 3.2% year over year and missed estimates by $10 million. A GAAP earnings loss of 91 cents missed estimates by 95 cents and non-GAAP earnings of 2 cents missed estimates by 2 cents.
- Target (TGT, Financial): Revenue of $18.67 billion increased 4.8% year over year and beat estimates by $220 million. GAAP earnings of $1.37 per share beat estimates by 18 cents and non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.36 beat estimates by 17 cents.
Home Depot’s report yesterday was slightly disappointing with the stock down 2.1% Wednesday. Revenue of $27.22 billion increased 3.5% year over year, but missed estimates by $290 million. Third-quarter GAAP earnings of $2.53 per share were in line with estimates.
Economic reports affecting market trading Wednesday included the following:
- The MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased 2.2% following an increase of 9.6%. The MBA’s average 30-year mortgage rate decreased to 3.99% from 4.03%.
- The EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status report showed crude oil inventory increasing by 1.379 million.
- The Federal Open Market Committee released its October meeting minutes.
In the S&P 500, materials led losses and energy led gains. In the S&P 100, the following stocks led gains and losses:
- Target (TGT, Financial) +14.48%
- Schlumberger (SLB, Financial) +5.32%
- ConocoPhillips (COP, Financial) +3.68%
- Lowe's (LOW, Financial) +3.54%
- General Motors (GM, Financial) -3.17%
- Qualcomm (QCOM, Financial) -2.42%
- AT&T (T, Financial) -2.21%
- Home Depot (HD, Financial) -2.10%
Small-cap stocks
In small caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 1,591.57 for a loss of 6.72 points or -0.42%. The S&P 600 closed at 974.03 for a loss of 6.18 points or -0.63%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 10,187.26 for a loss of 32.69 points or -0.32%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 9,600.49 for a loss of 59.16 points or -0.61%.
Other notable indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,994.17 for a loss of 7.18 points or -0.36%; the S&P 100 at 1,382.01 for a loss of 5.58 points or -0.40%; the Nasdaq 100 at 8,283.75 for a loss of 54.98 points or -0.66%; the Russell 3000 at 1,821.74 for a loss of 6.15 points or -0.34%; the Russell 1000 at 1,718.83 for a loss of 5.70 points or -0.33%; the Wilshire 5000 at 31,763.79 for a loss of 110.78 points or -0.35%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 733.35 for a loss of 0.78 points or -0.11%.
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