LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - US stocks relinquished early gains to close down on Wednesday after data showing a record rise in job openings in July fuelled fears a September rate hike might still be on the cards.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 239.11 points to 16,253.57, while the S&P and the Nasdaq finished 27 and 50 points lower respectively.

Apple unveils new products

In company news, Apple shed 1.92% after unveiling a business-oriented iPad Pro, which boasts a larger 12.9 inches screen and an increased focus on productivity.

"We asked ourselves, 'how could we take iPad even further?'," said chief executive Tim Cook at the launch on Wednesday.

"Now we have the biggest news in iPad since the iPad - the iPad Pro the most powerful and capable iPad we've ever created."

United Continental Holdings climbed 0.28% and could be in focus after the airline revealed its chief executive stepped down amid a federal probe.

Yahoo! rose 2.01%, even though analysts at Nomura cut their target price on the stock from $48 to $40, while digital media producer Barnes & Noble nosedived 27.6% as quarterly results missed targets

Asian stimulus

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to make tax cuts, which led the Nikkei to rally 7.7%, its biggest one-day percentage gain in over seven years.

"The restatement of loose fiscal and monetary policy measures dissipated the grey clouds over the Japanese markets," said Brenda Kelly, head analyst at London Capital Group.

"Although the conviction in Abenomics is on declining path on inability to bring the second and third arrows in the game, the promises of more liquidity and lower taxes could always make a shiny kneejerk boost."

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite rose 2.29% after China's Ministry of Finance promised to accelerate tax reforms and increase infrastructure spending in a bid to shore the country's economy.

Wednesday data

According to figures released by the Labor Department, job openings increased from 5.32m in June to 5.75m in July, comfortably beating expectations for a 5.30m reading and the highest figure since records began in December 2000.

The job openings rate rose to 3.9% after staying at 3.6% throughout the previous quarter.

"Combining these data with figures from the Labor Department's employment report suggests that labor market slack continues to diminish," analysts at Barclays said in a note.

"The ratio of unemployed job seekers to job openings fell to 1.44 in July, the lowest on record since 2000.

"On balance, the July JOLTS data suggest labor demand held up solidly at the beginning of the third quarter."

Meanwhile, the Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of application activity, which covers home purchase demand and refinancing demand, declined 6.2% in the week ended 4 September.

The seasonally-adjusted sub-index of refinancing applications tumbled 10%, while the index of loan requests for home purchases, a key indicator of home sales, fell 1% but remained 41% higher year-on-year.



Elsewhere, European equities closed higher on the back of strong performances in Asian markets, while oil prices slid sharply, with West Texas Intermediate losing 3.72% to $44.29 a barrel and Brent tumbling 3.88% to $47.67.

The dollar was broadly flat against the euro and gained 0.22% and 0.37% against the pound and the yen respectively, while gold futures slid 1.25% to $1,107.00.

S&P 500 - Risers
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $99.23 +4.51%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $10.73 +3.17%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $14.48 +2.04%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $31.52 +2.01%
Ecolab Inc. (ECL) $110.55 +1.80%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $61.65 +1.35%
Windstream Holdings Inc (WIN) $7.55 +1.21%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $90.44 +1.02%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $50.10 +0.99%
Phillips 66 Common Stock (PSX) $80.65 +0.96%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $2.01 -10.89%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $14.93 -8.52%
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) $3.08 -7.78%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $136.25 -6.43%
Noble Corporation plc (NE) $11.77 -5.46%
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $10.12 -4.98%
Apache Corp. (APA) $41.29 -4.51%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $38.80 -4.48%
Ensco Plc. (ESV) $15.64 -4.40%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $50.66 -4.32%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $74.92 -2.50%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $68.49 -2.13%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $114.00 -2.09%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $72.01 -2.03%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $101.92 -2.01%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $110.15 -1.92%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $65.12 -1.90%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $43.07 -1.87%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $72.96 -1.80%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $92.25 -1.80%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $99.23 +4.51%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $31.52 +2.01%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $150.18 +1.35%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $90.44 +1.02%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $50.10 +0.99%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $44.32 +0.68%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $239.23 +0.31%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $248.91 +0.30%
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $58.60 +0.10%
Altera Corp. (ALTR) $50.24 +0.08%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $136.25 -6.43%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $132.36 -3.32%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $16.95 -3.31%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $171.70 -2.96%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $58.83 -2.84%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $527.74 -2.77%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $4.58 -2.76%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $41.59 -2.74%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $36.67 -2.64%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $56.27 -2.60%

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