US close: Markets finish red after tsunami of data

Wall Street finished well into the red on Wednesday, after investors were kept busy wading through a slew of economic data, while also keeping a keen eye developments in the US-Turkey diplomatic standoff.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session down 0.54% at 25,162.41, the S&P 500 was off 0.76% at 2,818.37, and the Nasdaq 100 slid 1.24% to 7,354.66.

"The US index couldn't withstand the onslaught of negativity brewed during the European session,” said said SpreadEx analyst Connor Campbell earlier.

“The Dow is now in serious danger of dropping below 25,000, something that hasn’t happened in almost 4 weeks.”

The Turkish lira was gaining ground against the dollar after the country announced that it will implement retaliatory tariffs on a range of US products including automobiles, tobacco and alcohol.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said the move was "unlikely to be well received by the US administration as they attempt to secure the release of their citizen.”

“President Trump's reaction could well come by way of tweet later today,” Hewson noted.

The two countries are locked in a spat over US pastor Andrew Brunson who was arrested almost two years ago and accused of plotting against the Turkish government.

"Turkish President Erdogan appears to be playing a dangerous game if he thinks he can come out on top in this spat with the US.

“Notwithstanding the fact that tariffs are always inflationary they will only increase the concerns of Turkish business who want the central bank to start getting to grips with the runaway inflation in the Turkish economy," he added.

On a data-heavy day, the NY Empire State manufacturing index ticked up in August as business conditions in the area unexpectedly picked up, according to a survey conducted by the New York Fed.

The Empire State manufacturing index rose to 25.6 from 22.6 in July, beating expectations for a reading of 20.0.

It found that 42% of respondents reported an improvement in conditions over the month while 16% reported a worsening.

Retail sales in the US rose a tad more strongly than expected in July, boosted by sales at department stores and for clothing.

Total US retail sales volumes jumped by 0.5% month-on-month in July to reach $507.53bn, according to the Department of Commerce, much better than the 0.1% rise that economists had penciled-in, but was offset by a downwards revision of three tenths of a percentage point to June's reading, which was marked down to 0.2%.

US industrial production edged only a tad higher last month, although the output of business equipment remained strong as mining activity cooled a tad.

Total production increased by 0.1% month-on-month, according to the Federal Reserve and was up by 4.2% in comparison to a year ago, short of the 0.4% rise for July which economists had been expecting.

Elsewhere, US business inventories barely rose in June and the inventory-to-sales ratio fell to a three and a half year low, suggesting businesses would need to ramp up the accumulation of stock, which would, in turn, boost economic growth in the third quarter.

The Commerce Department said that business inventories had edged up 0.1% after a downwardly revised 0.3% increase in May.

Lastly, the National Association of Home Builders revealed a modest deterioration in US homebuilder confidence throughout August.

The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index slipped to 67 from the 68 recorded a month earlier, matching estimates by economists.

"The good news is the builders continue to report strong demand for new housing, fueled by steady job and income growth along with rising household formations," said NAHB chairman Randy Noel.

In corporate news, electric car maker Tesla was down 2.57% following a Bloomberg report that chief executive Elon Musk had not officially hired Goldman Sachs as its financial adviser when he tweeted his plans to take the company private last week and said he had secured deal funding.

Elsewhere, MoviePass owner Helios and Matheson Analytics recovered much of its earlier losses of more than 21%, to close 4% below the waterline after it reported a wider loss for the second quarter.

Shares in department store Macy's fell 16.05% despite posting same-store sales that beat estimates and boosting its earnings and sales guidance.

Macy's drop, its biggest in over a year, was seen by some as yet another indicator that retailers were still facing much scrutiny on Wall Street as consumers flock to e-commerce.

Dow Jones - Risers

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $53.24 1.95%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $159.88 1.10%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $229.24 1.05%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $67.37 0.97%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $82.29 0.96%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $41.16 0.86%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $143.91 0.84%
3M Co. (MMM) $201.39 0.78%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $112.91 0.70%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $128.77 0.56%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $117.94 -3.68%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $132.03 -2.21%
Boeing Co. (BA) $331.76 -1.95%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $76.94 -1.76%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $107.66 -1.73%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.46 -1.37%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $79.57 -0.72%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $90.25 -0.69%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $131.75 -0.33%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $43.86 -0.32%

S&P 500 - Risers

Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $52.07 9.71%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $158.03 9.11%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $525.83 8.51%
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB) $116.46 4.89%
Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) $34.90 4.77%
Allegion (ALLE) $85.30 4.37%
Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM) $16.70 3.60%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $74.95 3.44%
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (HST) $20.79 3.43%
Progressive Corp. (PGR) $64.06 3.39%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Macy's Inc. (M) $35.15 -12.30%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $16.10 -8.48%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $13.67 -8.38%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $31.80 -8.23%
Alcoa Corporation (AA) $40.88 -8.03%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $10.70 -7.04%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $45.33 -7.00%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $47.49 -6.18%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) $62.34 -6.03%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $27.61 -5.54%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $1,863.49 1.63%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $139.20 1.31%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $37.44 0.94%
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $86.65 0.76%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $66.87 0.63%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $98.71 0.59%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $211.41 0.54%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $324.75 0.46%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $65.68 0.38%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $52.75 0.30%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $47.49 -6.18%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $344.79 -5.15%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $350.45 -4.94%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $32.36 -4.46%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $197.14 -4.12%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $138.17 -3.96%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $295.75 -3.93%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $89.27 -3.71%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $115.32 -3.64%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $200.65 -3.63%