Stocks edge lower in volatile session
Stocks edged lower Wednesday, following Tuesday’s gains that were driven by a batch of positive earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average came under pressure from losses by IBM and Home Depot. IBM's shares were lower as a result of the company missing revenue expectations in its latest earnings, while Home Depot was downgraded by Credit Suisse. The blue-chip index fell more than 300 points in intraday trading.
The Dow closed 91.74 points lower, or 0.36 percent, to 25,706.68. The S&P 500 ticked 0.71 points lower to 2,809.21. The Nasdaq Composite lost 2.79 points, or 0.04 percent, closing at 7,642.70.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBM | INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. | 227.41 | +0.49 | +0.22% |
| HD | THE HOME DEPOT INC. | 429.13 | +1.94 | +0.45% |
While stocks have been pulled lower in recent weeks by rising Treasury yields, earnings season kicked off in earnest this week, and at least, on Tuesday that gave investors something else to sink their teeth into. Analysts are expecting another big earnings season, with Goldman Sachs forecasting S&P 500 to experience 21 percent earnings per share growth in the third quarter.
Earnings continued to stream in on Wednesday, while traders digested the latest economic data reports, which included September housing starts, which came in below expectations.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 44782 | -128.65 | -0.29% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 6047.15 | +14.77 | +0.24% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 19403.947849 | +185.78 | +0.97% |
Also, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its most recent policy setting meeting in which interest rates were increased. Officials signaled that a strong economy will support a continuation of the Fed's gradual rate hikes.
Stocks rallied Tuesday, with a positive stream of earnings driving investors’ sentiment, along with a record 7.1 million job openings as released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Fox Business' Ken Martin contributed to this report