U.S. Stocks drift lower after Weak Economic Reports
U.S. stocks retreated on Wednesday, as weaker-than-expected economic data and uncertainty about Greece’s debt negotiations weighed on sentiment.
Investors are eager to get a peek this afternoon at minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting.
The S&P 500 SPX, -0.20% retreated from record levels reached on Tuesday. Energy stocks fell as oil prices dropped ahead of a report on stockpiles in the U.S.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.19% traded lower, but stayed above 18,000. The blue-chip index on Tuesday closed within 6 points of its record set Dec. 26.
The Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.05% was flat at 4,900.
Chris Gaffney, senior market strategist at EverBank Wealth Management, said the fact that markets react negatively to poor economic data is a positive, as it indicates markets are less and less dependent on the Federal Reserve’s policies.
“Data today were terrible and point to fragility of the U.S. economy, but markets know that the Fed is still likely to raise rates this year as labor market keep improving,” Gaffney said.
Gaffney said any mention of the strong dollar in the Fed minutes would be interesting.
“We know the Fed thinks deflationary pressures due to oil plunge are transitory. It would be interesting to see if they mention anything about the dollar, even though there is probably not much they can do about it,” Gaffney said.
Despite Wednesday’s retreat, the S&P 500 held above certain resistance levels, challenging bearish investors. Jason Hunter, technical analyst at J.P. Morgan, wrote that he is not looking for a definitive move higher from the S&P 500’s current range, despite recent gains that have propelled the benchmark index to record levels.
“While the market can advance further, our broader outlook for a mostly range-bound first half still stands,” Hunter wrote.
Data: U.S. wholesale prices posted a record 0.8% decline in January after an unprecedented drop in energy costs, the Labor Department said Wednesday. The drop was larger than expected. Meanwhile, construction on new U.S. homes dropped 2% in January to an annual rate of 1.07 million units, as heavy snowfall hindered builders in some regions such as the Midwest and Northeast. The numbers matched consensus forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch.
Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in January, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 0.4% rise. Another sign of weakness came in a slight downward revision to output in the past four months.
FOMC minutes: The minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting on Jan. 27-28 are due at 2 p.m. Eastern. At the meeting, Federal Reserve policy makers told investors they would be “patient” about hiking short-term interest rates, and market participants will scrutinize the minutes to see whether any of the top Fed officials actually wanted to drop that phrasing.
Angie’s List Inc. ANGI, +48.06% shares surged more than 50% after the company posted quarterly profit and revenue that topped Wall Street’s expectations.
Boston Scientific Inc. BSX, +10.68% stock jumped and was the top performer on the S&P 500. The biotech company late Tuesday said it has settled with Johnson & Johnson Inc. JNJ, -0.72% over the acquisition of Guidant Corp. in 2004.
Fossil Group Inc. FOSL, -18.19% dropped more than 17% after the company late Tuesday reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings that missed expectations, along with revenue that disappointed.
For more on today’s notable movers, read our Movers & Shakers column.
Other markets: European stock markets moved firmly higher, boosted by optimism that the Greek debt drama could soon come to an end. Asian markets also got a lift from Greece and closed with gains.
Crude-oil prices CLH5, -2.47% fell 1.2% ahead of inventories, while metals prices were mostly lower. The dollar DXY, +0.36% rose against most other major currencies.
Source: MarketWatch
