Wall Street was set to open little changed on Wednesday as investors paused after powering the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record highs.
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Stocks are closing nearly flat on Wall Street Tuesday, after an up-and-down day that saw health care, technology and consumer-focused companies lead the way. Investors were focused on company earnings from retailers, restaurant chains and other companies.
The S&P 500 energy index fell 0.78 per cent. Exxon Mobil’s 1.2 per cent drop was the top drag on the S&P 500 and the Dow. The S&P 500 index fell 6.25 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 2,175.49, as the energy sector dropped 1.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.1 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7 percent.
India’s Sensex was down 0.9 percent to extend losses for the second straight session after the RBI maintained a status quo on interest rates. Royal Caribbean Cruises slid $4, or 5.4 percent, to $69.98, while Carnival lost $1.01, or 2.2 percent, to $45.48. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.52 percent from 1.55 late Tuesday.
Of the 447 S&P 500 companies that have reported results so far, 70 percent have beaten earnings expectations, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The Nasdaq is up 197.17 points, or 3.9 percent.
GOOD REVIEW: Yelp jumped 12.8 percent after the online business review portal reported strong quarterly results.
US stocks rose on positive jobs report that showed employers added 255,000 jobs in July compared to 179,000 jobs that economists predicted for the month.
Shares of Walt Disney DIS.N rose 1.52 percent after the company reported results overnight and bought a 33 percent stake in video-streaming firm BAMTech.
The index has now risen by 20 per cent since its February lows and joining the FTSE 100 as one of the best performing European indices since the 24 June UK European Union referendum vote.
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Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Brent crude, used to price worldwide oils, was down 87 cents, or 1.9 percent, at $44.11 per barrel in London. Natural gas fell 5 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $2.56 per 1,000 cubic feet. Brent crude LCOc1 settled down 2 percent at $44.05. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average erased early gains as the yen strengthened against the dollar.
