US close: Markets finish mixed amid FOMC minutes, China meeting
Wall Street finished as it started on Wednesday, on a mixed note, after the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes solidified market expectations for another 25 basis point interest rate hike come September, even while hinting at the possibility of a 'pause' thereafter should there be a "major escalation in trade disputes".
Dow Jones I.A.
38,311.68
04:30 15/10/20
Nasdaq 100
17,761.62
09:30 29/04/24
Earlier in the day, markets suffered as Donald Trump was dealt a double blow, after his ex-campaign chief was found guilty of fraud and his former long-time lawyer pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.34% at 25,722.60 and the S&P 500 was off 0.04% at 2,861.82, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.38% to 7,889.10.
According to the FOMC minutes, the Federal Reserve appeared to remain set on a gradual pace of rate hikes, although rate-setters conceded that it was hard to pinpoint what the exact neutral rate was.
The minutes said that "all participants pointed to ongoing trade disagreements and proposed trade measures as an important source of uncertainty and risks.
“Participants observed that if a large-scale and prolonged dispute over trade policies developed, there would likely be adverse effects on business sentiment, investment spending, and employment.”
Paul Ashworth at Capital Economics said that there was nothing in the release to surprise the markets, with attention now shifting to chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech on Friday.
“We expect him to deliver the same message on tightening evident in the minutes.
“We doubt that President Trump's criticism is going to change anything.”
Trade talks between the US and China were also kicking off in Washington late in the day, with a delegation from Beijing meeting with US officials in a bid to find a resolution to the escalating tariff war between the two countries.
Trump said in an interview with Reuters on Monday that he didn't expect much from the talks and that there was no time frame for an end to the trade war.
Meanwhile, concerns that Trump could be vulnerable to impeachment began to emerge after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws for the purpose of influencing the election.
Cohen implicated the president in his testimony, swearing under oath that the President had told him to arrange payments to silence women alleged to have had affairs with him.
In addition, Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was found guilty on eight fraud charges.
He was convicted of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to report a foreign bank account.
“Cohen's plea, which puts the President under the spotlight even more, and opens him up to charges of criminal conduct, has raised concerns that he might be vulnerable to impeachment in the coming months,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
“While this is unlikely in the short term, any shift in the balance of power after the midterms in November, could increase that prospect if the Republicans lose their majorities.”
On the data front, existing home sales fell for the fourth consecutive month in July due to a shortage of properties on the market pushing up house prices and taking several potential buyers out of the mix.
Existing home sales fell 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.34m units, according to The National Association of Realtors. Marking the longest streak of monthly declines since 2013.
Economists expected existing home sales to gain 0.6% to a rate of 5.40m units in July.
In corporate news, discount retailer Target was ahead 3.21% after its second-quarter profit and revenue beat analysts' expectations.
Navigators Group shot up 8.79%, after agreeing to be bought by the Hartford Financial Services Group for $2.1bn, or $70 a share - a premium of just under 9% to its closing price on Tuesday.
Mallinckrodt dipped 2.17% after it confirmed that the US Food and Drug Administration rejected its new drug application for a treatment for newborn babies at risk of developing severe jaundice.
United Continental slid 1.32% after it named Gerry Laderman as its new chief financial officer, while Lowe's Companies surged 5.76% despite the retailer's second-quarter same-store sales missing expectations.
Dow Jones - Risers
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $79.96 1.43%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $107.06 1.02%
American Express Co. (AXP) $105.83 0.97%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $118.93 0.83%
Visa Inc. (V) $141.15 0.79%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $45.99 0.46%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $239.34 0.29%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $215.05 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $68.76 -0.10%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $69.04 -0.19%
Dow Jones - Fallers
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $133.23 -2.02%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $129.43 -1.73%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $54.13 -1.42%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.05 -1.20%
Boeing Co. (BA) $350.03 -1.06%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $69.64 -0.87%
3M Co. (MMM) $204.26 -0.70%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $198.97 -0.63%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.93 -0.63%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $83.40 -0.61%
S&P 500 - Risers
Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) $105.54 5.80%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $16.40 4.06%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $29.85 3.93%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $262.82 3.75%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $86.30 3.51%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $4.71 3.29%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $20.87 3.27%
Target Corp. (TGT) $85.95 3.22%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $16.98 2.97%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.66 2.91%
S&P 500 - Fallers
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $22.42 -6.51%
Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $13.57 -4.84%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $45.48 -4.73%
Public Storage (PSA) $211.04 -4.45%
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) $50.15 -4.17%
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) $23.69 -4.13%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $18.40 -3.77%
Borg Warner Inc. (BWA) $44.34 -3.53%
Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI) $8.09 -3.35%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $39.19 -2.83%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $344.93 5.02%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $262.82 3.75%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $71.43 2.54%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $129.23 2.22%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $97.92 2.09%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $344.44 1.90%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $101.53 1.79%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $255.54 1.61%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $361.36 1.54%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $245.89 1.39%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $234.70 -3.09%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $39.19 -2.83%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $52.82 -2.19%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $128.88 -2.00%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $42.99 -1.76%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $93.32 -1.76%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $300.28 -1.57%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $21.40 -1.43%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $207.54 -1.41%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $32.34 -1.40%