Wall Street limped into the close Tuesday, giving back Monday's gains as continued political conflict overseas coupled with market resistance to challenge new highs gave investors an excuse to take profits.
Despite bullish economic data and upbeat earnings from Office Depot (NYSE:ODP) and Tenet Healthcare (NYSE:THC), equities eroded from the opening bell and continued to lose altitude throughout the session. Disappointing earnings from American International Group (NYSE:AIG) and a sell-off of newly issued Twitter stock (NYSE:TWTR) weighed on financials and tech stocks, respectively.
In economic news, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $40.4 billion in March, beating estimates for a $40.5 billion deficit. Increased exports of oil, gas and commercial aircraft drove overall exports up 2.1% to a 4-month high of $194 bln, while imports rose 1.1% to a 2-year high of $234 bln. The smaller deficit resulted in upward revisions to Q1 GDP, now at 0.2% from 0.1% currently.
Wednesday's economic calendar is again on the light side with only Q1 non-farm productivity (est -1.2%, +1.8% prior) and unit labor costs (est +2.8%, -0.1% prior). Mid-morning, Fed Chair Janet Yellen will appear before the Joint Economic Committee.
More Earnings
First-quarter earnings continue to stream in with Disney (NYSE:DIS) and Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) reporting after Tuesday's close while Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Prudential (NYSE:PRU) and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ:GMCR) all report on Wednesday.
Here's Where The Markets Stood At The Close
US MARKETS
- Dow Jones Industrial Index was down 129 points (-0.8%) at 16,401
- S&P 500 was down 16 points (-0.9%) at 1,867
- Nasdaq Composite Index was down 57 points (-1.4%) at 4,080
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
- FTSE 100 was down 0.35%
- Nikkei 225 was CLOSED
- Hang Seng Index was CLOSED
- Shanghai China Composite Index was up 0.03%
UPSIDE MOVERS
- (+) FST Agreed to a takeover by Sabine Oil and Gas in an all stock transaction.
- (+) DXM Reported a narrower per-share loss of $4.74 vs $5.84
- (+) ARCI Reported a large year-over-year gain in Q1 profits
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
- (-) ECOM Reported a wider Q1 loss but beat analyst estimates
- (-) NVIV Offers 12.2 million shares at 30% discount
- (-) FN Provided 2014 guidance below analyst estimates
After Hours Stock News From Midnight Trader.
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