US stocks ended slightly lower Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said improving economic conditions could justify an interest-rate hike as soon as September. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost two points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,167 and the Nasdaq composite was up six points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,104.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped less than 0.1 per cent to 18,472.17.
Coca-Cola, another Dow member, dropped 3.3 per cent after it reported a 5.1 per cent fall in second-quarter revenues to US$11.5 billion, as sales slid in every region but North America.
The S&P 500 is down 8.45 points, or 0.4 percent.
But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gave up early gains, falling 0.2 percent to 22,090.27 and South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.2 percent to 2,023.09.
Five of the 10 major S&P sectors were lower, led by a 1.4 percent drop in the telecom services index .SPLRCL .
One bright spot was Texas Instruments, which rose 6 percent after its current-quarter forecast beat analysts’ estimates.
Earnings were mixed overall, with Dow member Coca-Cola tumbling 2.9 percent on weaker global sales, and microblogging company Twitter diving 11.4 percent after reporting disappointing user growth.
After the close, Gilead Sciences fell 3 percent and Sanmina fell 12.6 percent following their quarterly reports. About 313 million people regularly used Twitter last quarter, a fraction of the 1.7 billion people who use Facebook regularly.
Wall Street closed mixed Tuesday as investors refrained from making moves ahead of a Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and statements about the general outlook of the economy.
Apple soared $7.31, or 7.6 percent, to $103.99 in early trading. The S&P/TSX has joined global markets extending gains this month following a brief post-Brexit vote swoon amid a stretch of solid US economic data and improving earnings.
Crude oil sunk almost 3 percent with prices hitting about $43 a barrel.
The firm has faced headwinds in the USA and internationally as more consumers move away from sugary drinks. Marathon Oil, Transocean and Hess Corporation all fell 4 percent or more. Nevertheless, with the economy on the mend, inflation pressures edging higher and stocks at new record highs, it would not be surprising if Fed Chief Janet Yellen raised the likelihood of a rate hike sooner than most anticipate.
The yen rose around 1.5 per cent to Y114.88 yen per euro and 104.35 per dollar. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 1.58 percent from 1.57 percent. On Tuesday, data showed consumer confidence fell by less than forecast, while new-home sales rose in June to the highest level in more than eight years.
The September crude contract was down 45 cents at US$42.68 per barrel and September natural gas was down four cents at US$2.67.
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The technical condition of the market continues to argue that the longer-term prospects
for the stock market are for higher prices.
