Stocks mixed following Tuesday's plunge
U.S. stock indexes were mixed Wednesday, as traders moved to look past concerns of a trade war which have pressured stocks this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.41 points to 24,657.80. The S&P 500 ticked 4.73 points higher to 2,767.32. The Nasdaq Composite rose 55.93 points to 7,781.52.
The escalating tit-for-tat trade tensions between the U.S. and China -- the world's two biggest economies -- come after Trump, last Friday, put tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, warning that if China retaliated, so would the U.S. Trump is now threatening to target another $200 billion in tariffs.
“No Chinese leader is going to want to appear to be pushed around by any U.S. president so they are retaliating and digging their heels in,” said Mark Avallone, president and founder of Potomac Wealth Advisors. “This is a predictable response to a very public effort by the U.S. to reconcile what it perceives to be trade differences.”
| 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% |
The Dow was under the most pressure, led by industrial component stocks reacting to ongoing trade tensions. McDonald’s shares were also lower, likely in response to a disappointing forecast from Starbucks. The coffee chain lowered its U.S. sales outlook and shares dropped more than 9% on the news.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq was only slightly higher, the advance was enough to set a record high. The small-cap Russell 2000 also hit an all-time high in intraday trade. These companies get the lion’s share of profits and sales from the United States.
In company news, shares of 21st Century Fox climbed on Wednesday after the company announced that it had accepted a new, sweetened deal from Disney. 21st Century Fox is the parent company of FOX Business and Fox News.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOXA | FOX CORP. | 47.12 | +0.41 | +0.88% |
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 117.47 | -0.13 | -0.11% |
| CMCSA | COMCAST CORP. | 43.19 | +0.63 | +1.48% |
General Electric, one of the 30 original members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, will be removed from the leading index amid a prolonged stock slide and financial difficulties that have forced the one-time giant to cut costs, the S&P Dow Jones Index Committee announced Tuesday. Despite the news GE shares opened higher. Walgreen Boots Alliance will replace the longtime industrial member, those shares popped on the news.
Economic data released on Wednesday included existing home sales, which declined by 0.4% in May to 5.43 million, the second-consecutive month of declines.
Commodities were mixed but oil futures were higher, rallying on the possibility that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries won’t be able to reach an agreement on raising output following a clash between Saudi Arabia and Iran. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Iran said it was likely to reject any agreement that raised output from the group.
U.S. crude settled 1.8% higher at $66.22 a barrel.
FOX Business’ Ken Martin contributed to this article.