US close: Stocks book gains despite surprise fall in employment
By Josh White
Date: Wednesday 02 Feb 2022
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street's main indices booked their fourth consecutive day of gains on Wednesday, after a session which saw investors digesting a slew of corporate earnings.
At the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.63% at 35,629.33, as the S&P 500 added 0.94% to 4,589.38 and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead 0.5% at 14,417.55.
The Dow closed 224.09 points higher on Wednesday, adding onto the gains recorded in the previous session, as major indices attempted to bounce back from a rollercoaster January.
"After leaping higher in previous sessions, gains are becoming a little harder to come by for equity markets," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
"A sharp reverse in the ADP payrolls figure has not helped sentiment, but there will be those who are hoping for a resumption of 'bad news equals good news' for stocks, if a series of poor economic figures causes the Fed to rein in its tightening ambitions, even if they don't get rid of them entirely."
On the economic front, mortgage applications to purchase a home increased 4% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, but were 7% lower on a year-on-year basis.
Applications to refinance a home loan, meanwhile, jumped 18% week-on-week despite the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances increasing to 3.78% from 3.72%.
Elsewhere, private sector employment in the US unexpectedly fell in January amid a surge in Covid-19 infections, according to the latest data from ADP.
Employment declined by 301,00 from December, versus expectations for a 207,000 jump, while the December total of jobs added was revised to 776,000 from 807,000.
In equities, Google owner Alphabet jumped 7.37% after the company beat on both the top and bottom lines, and announced a 20-for-one stock split.
Advanced Micro Devices was also ahead, rising 5.12% on solid earnings.
On the downside, General Motors lost 1.05% after the carmaker posted earnings that beat estimates and raised its 2022 forecast, despite seeing softer-than-expected revenues.
PayPal tumbled 24.59% after the payments processor issued disappointing guidance, and Redbox Entertainment plunged 52.16% after the DVD rental vending machine operator warned of a number of commercial pressures.
Dow Jones - Risers
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $172.72 2.82%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $479.78 2.43%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $162.60 1.79%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $313.46 1.52%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $56.17 1.44%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $374.07 1.36%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $50.41 1.33%
Visa Inc. (V) $235.42 1.32%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $262.27 1.27%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $137.23 1.27%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $225.01 -3.06%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $142.62 -1.29%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $149.99 -0.80%
3M Co. (MMM) $166.66 -0.46%
Boeing Co. (BA) $207.52 -0.39%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $363.06 -0.27%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $61.78 -0.24%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $205.19 -0.20%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $140.85 -0.04%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
S&P 500 - Risers
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $2,960.00 7.52%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $2,960.73 7.37%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $188.20 6.25%
PerkinElmer Inc. (PKI) $185.12 6.22%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $78.50 6.05%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $137.17 5.56%
Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) $97.56 5.49%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $122.76 5.12%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $207.97 4.87%
Extra Space Storage (EXR) $206.81 4.68%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $132.57 -24.59%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $92.54 -11.50%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $429.48 -6.05%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $10.51 -4.97%
Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) $41.60 -4.74%
Twitter Inc (TWTR) $36.51 -4.22%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $22.05 -4.21%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $65.82 -3.87%
Macy's Inc. (M) $25.28 -3.47%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $17.68 -3.28%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $2,960.00 7.52%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $2,960.73 7.37%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $188.20 6.25%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $137.17 5.56%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $207.97 4.87%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $534.23 4.03%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $611.77 3.78%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $84.51 3.76%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $187.84 3.61%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $17.88 3.53%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $132.57 -24.59%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $429.48 -6.05%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,082.60 -4.88%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $242.85 -3.91%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $65.82 -3.87%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $58.54 -3.21%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $26.29 -2.85%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $905.66 -2.75%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $73.21 -2.49%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $86.12 -2.35%
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