Indexes Begin Lower After 4 Straight Days of Gains - InvestingChannel

Indexes Begin Lower After 4 Straight Days of Gains

U.S. stocks moved slightly lower on Wednesday after the Dow and S&P 500 extended their rally in the previous session as investors monitored developments in Ukraine and the bond market.

The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 31.78 points to start the midweek session at 35,262.41

The S&P 500 lost 11.03 points to 4,620.57.

The NASDAQ Composite eased back 43.3 points to 14,576.34.

Oil stocks moved higher, with Occidental Petroleum and Phillips 66 each gaining about 4%.

Shares of Apple, which have risen for 11 consecutive sessions, were flat. Shares of Procter & Gamble dipped 1.4% following a downgrade from JPMorgan.

Shares of chipmaker Micron rose 2% after the company beat estimates on the top and bottom lines Other semiconductor stocks fell, however, with Marvell and Nvidia shedding more than 2%.

Several retail stocks were under pressure after disappointing quarterly reports, including Five Below and Chewy.

On the positive side, apparel stock Lululemon jumped 5% after issuing upbeat guidance and announcing a share buyback program.

Wednesday was also a busy day of economic data. The ADP payrolls report said private firms added 455,000 jobs in March. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expected 450,000. The final reading for fourth quarter U.S. GDP showed 6.9% growth, below the preliminary reading of 7%.

Russia said late Tuesday it would reduce its military presence in some parts of Ukraine, but several countries — including the U.S. and U.K. — remain skeptical over Moscow’s pledge. Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Ukraine continued Wednesday.

Treasury prices gained an inch of ground, lowering yields to 2.38% from Tuesday’s 2.39%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices hopped $4.02 to $108.26 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices progressed $20.30 to $1,938.30 U.S. an ounce.

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