US open: Stocks lower as investors look ahead to Fed rate decision
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Wednesday 01 Feb 2023
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks were in the red early on Wednesday as market participants awaited the outcome of the FOMC's two-day policy meeting.
As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.60% at 33,880.39, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.21% to 4,068.18 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.10% weaker at 11,573.14.
The Dow opened 205.65 points lower on Wednesday, taking a solid bite out of gains recorded in the previous session.
Wednesday's primary focus will be the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision at 1900 GMT, which will be followed by a press conference at 1930 GMT. Economists and traders widely expect the central bank to hike rates from 4.5% to 4.75%.
On the macro front, US mortgage applications tumbled 9% in the week ended 27 January, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, with applications for refinancing falling 7.1% and purchase applications slumping 10.3%. The fall comes despite the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages slipping one basis lower to 6.19% - the lowest level seen since September 2022.
Elsewhere, hiring in the US private sector slowed significantly at the start of 2023, according to the results of consultancy ADP's tally of private sector payrolls, which printed at 106,000 for January, well and truly short of consensus estimates for a reading of 160,000.
Moving on, labour demand in the States remained high at the end of 2022, according to the Department of Labor, which revealed that in seasonally adjusted terms, the number of job openings jumped at a month-on-month pace of 5.5% in December to reach approximately 11.01m.
Still on data, US factory activity at the start of 2023 declined a tad less than previously thought, according to S&P Global. S&P's manufacturing sector PMI improved from a reading of 46.2 in December to 46.9 in January - ahead of preliminary expectations for a reading of 46.8.
On another note, the Institute of Supply Management said factory sector activity in the US shrank more quickly than expected at the beginning of 2023, with its manufacturing sector PMI slipping from a reading of 48.4 in December to 47.4 in January. Economists had pencilled-in a print of 48.1.
Finally, construction spending fell by 0.4% month-on-month to $1.81trn in December, according to the Census Bureau, swinging from an upwardly revised 0.5% expansion in November but missing market forecasts of a stall.
In the corporate space, T-Mobile posted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.48bn and said it expects to add at least 5.0m new customers in 2023, while Boston Scientific fell just shy of earnings estimates in Q4 but delivered revenues that were bang in line with estimates.
Still to come, Facebook parent company Meta Platforms and Netgear will both publish their latest sets of quarterly results after the close.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $217.42 2.07%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $168.99 0.61%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $501.50 0.46%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $28.37 0.39%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $108.88 0.36%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $127.54 0.16%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.60 0.07%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $267.47 0.03%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $59.28 -0.12%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $243.43 -3.55%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $184.89 -3.26%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $47.97 -1.45%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $319.64 -1.40%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $362.33 -0.95%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $250.26 -0.80%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $36.58 -0.77%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $133.75 -0.73%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $172.81 -0.70%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $143.31 -0.68%
S&P 500 - Risers
Stryker Corp. (SYK) $271.99 7.16%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $80.22 6.75%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $47.36 5.15%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $2.84 4.23%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $5.45 3.71%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $79.51 3.66%
Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) $47.58 2.86%
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) $586.24 2.79%
Unum Group (UNM) $43.12 2.59%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $512.74 2.53%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Westrock Company (WRK) $33.50 -14.63%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $114.20 -11.25%
Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $37.12 -9.54%
Synchrony Financial (SYF) $34.31 -6.59%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $30.18 -6.55%
Johnson Controls International plc (JCI) $65.32 -6.11%
Chubb Corp. (CB) $216.19 -4.97%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $42.08 -4.25%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $18.80 -3.79%
Macy's Inc. (M) $22.75 -3.75%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $153.94 14.30%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $38.51 4.75%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $2.67 3.49%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $91.66 3.44%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $512.74 2.53%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $200.30 2.52%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $60.93 2.35%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $113.88 2.14%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $360.84 1.97%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $61.42 1.86%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $114.20 -11.25%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $42.08 -4.25%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $243.43 -3.55%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $11.27 -2.63%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $110.83 -2.12%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $47.97 -1.45%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $438.32 -1.22%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $179.71 -1.14%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $319.82 -1.01%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $506.52 -0.90%
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