US close: Markets finish red, Tesla beats on revenue and earnings

Wall Street reversed earlier gains and the previous day's recovery on Wednesday, with wary traders sending the main indices into the red, while officials at the Federal Reserve appeared to be taking a 'hands-off' approach to the recent sell-off.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.08% at 24,893.35, while the S&P 500 lost 0.5% to 2,681.66 and the Nasdaq 100 slid 1.26% to 6,582.02.

Before the markets opened, head of the New York Fed William Dudley told an audience he did not believe the recent rout in stocks had implications for the wider economy - at least "not yet".

Indeed, he described it as a "healthy" shake-out.

"While we can’t tell what will happen next, the current course of events has mirrored previous market sell offs – brief panic, steady recovery and then a return to the longer-term rally. It is, after all, a bull market," said Chris Beauchamp at IG.

On Tuesday, all three of the major indices managed to end in the black after a late rally, recovering from huge losses on Monday, when the Dow tanked 1,175 points in what appeared to be a technical correction.

That was likely sparked by concerns that rising inflation might force the Federal Reserve to hike rates more than expected this year.

As an aside, in a research note sent to clients Andrew Garthwaite at Credit Suisse told clients that the critical level of wage growth in the US for markets, from 3.25% to 3.50%, had not yet been reached.

In January, US average hourly earnings advanced at a 2.9% clip year-on-year.

In corporate news, Snapchat parent Snap Inc rocketed 47.58% after the social networking platform posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Tuesday evening.

Wynn Resorts was also higher, gaining 8.64% after Steve Wynn resigned from his roles as chief executive and chairman late on Tuesday, following allegations last month of sexual misconduct.

Shares in Walt Disney reversed gains seen earlier in the session, finished down 1.33% after the company’s fourth-quarter earnings beat analysts' expectations, while Michael Kors rose 1.02% after the fashion brand's fiscal third-quarter earnings topped expectations and it lifted its full-year outlook.

Toy-maker Hasbro was 8.83% higher, despite posting a surprise drop in quarterly revenue.

Going the other way, health insurer Humana was down 1.57% after its fourth-quarter profit surpassed expectations while revenues fell short.

Tesla was seeing some after-hours action, rising 1.96% by 2259 GMT, after beating both revenue and earnings estimates in its fourth quarter results released after the bell.

The electric car maker said revenue was $3.29bn, with losses reaching $3.04 per share - both numbers beating consensus forecasts for $3.28bn and $3.12 per share.

It had made headlines earlier in the week after its eccentric chairman and CEO Elon Musk blasted one of the company’s Roadster models into space, replete with dummy astronaut at the steering wheel, in a savvy marketing move using a rocket launched by one of his other companies, SpaceX.

Tesla shares were up 3.3% at the closing bell, before its earnings were released.

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $348.27 5.85%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $191.29 4.47%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $70.60 4.07%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $257.10 3.21%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $115.29 2.37%
General Electric Co. (GE) $15.25 2.28%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $154.34 2.16%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $102.85 1.93%
American Express Co. (AXP) $93.62 1.74%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $131.97 1.66%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $159.54 -2.14%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $89.61 -1.88%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $76.93 -1.76%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $34.98 -0.85%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $81.84 -0.66%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $131.42 -0.35%
Visa Inc. (V) $119.65 -0.27%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $44.56 -0.25%
3M Co. (MMM) $233.19 -0.19%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $104.76 0.06%

S&P 500 - Risers

XL Group Ltd (XL) $42.00 12.45%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $102.22 8.83%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $177.32 8.64%
Ball Corp (BLL) $39.33 7.72%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $32.62 6.74%
Boeing Co. (BA) $348.27 5.85%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $21.96 5.32%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $16.47 5.24%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $25.74 5.19%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $10.76 5.08%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $82.91 -9.80%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $272.21 -9.35%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $3.60 -8.51%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $2.88 -6.47%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $16.33 -5.22%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $36.76 -4.89%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $13.12 -4.86%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $42.01 -4.26%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $30.48 -4.24%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $27.08 -3.87%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Hasbro Inc (HAS) $102.22 8.83%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $177.32 8.64%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $45.10 4.11%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $76.52 3.55%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $345.00 3.30%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $82.76 2.96%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $62.06 1.99%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $117.15 1.95%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $49.55 1.79%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $117.95 1.74%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $82.91 -9.80%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $56.81 -4.50%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $42.01 -4.26%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $171.63 -3.76%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $101.98 -3.67%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $85.35 -3.60%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $187.15 -3.59%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $46.27 -3.22%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $48.69 -3.10%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $101.35 -3.07%