Stocks on Wall Street moved into negative territory shortly after the start of trading despite the release of better-than-expected results for a key factory sector survey.
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing sector Purchasing Managers’ Index improved from a reading of 55.4 for April to 56.1 in May (consensus: 55.0).
Investors were also waiting on the release of the meeting minutes of the Federal Reserve’s policy deliberations on 3-4 May in order to try and shed more light on the central bank’s intentions.
As of 1533 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrials had flipped into the red and was slipping 0.67% or 219.87 points lower to 32,770.25, alongside a similar-sized fall on the S&P 500 to 4,1010.70.
The Nasdaq Composite on the other was only 0.29% or 35.66 points lower at 12,048.29.
In the background, Moscow reacted poorly to news that the US was set to ship advanced missile systems to Ukraine, although according to UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, progress was being made in talks to allow exports of Ukrainian grain and Russian fertilisers form Black Sea ports.
Worth noting, in an interview with Marketwatch published overnight, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President, Raphael Bostic, said that any pause in Fed rate hikes that might occur should not be interpreted as a so-called ‘Fed put’.
Also scheduled for later in the day, Federal Reserve Bank of New York boss, John Williams, was set to deliver a speech at 1630 GMT while his counterpart at the San Francisco Fed, James Bullard, was expected to do the same at 1800 GMT.
The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book was to be published at 1900 GMT.
On the company side of things, Hovnanian Enterprises was an early gainer after the homebuilder reported that its adjusted earnings roughly tripled during the second quarter on the back of stronger gross margins.
Salesforce was another top gainer after the maker of customer relationship management software raised its guidance for full-year earnings per share to $4.74-4.76 and that for non-GAAP operating margins from 20.0% to 20.4%.
Dow Jones – Risers
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $179.54 12.04%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $68.46 0.71%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $175.69 0.59%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $272.20 0.12%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $148.95 0.07%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $44.38 -0.10%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $44.98 -0.16%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $138.60 -0.17%
Dow Jones – Fallers
Boeing Co. (BA) $127.77 -2.77%
3M Co. (MMM) $146.02 -2.19%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $319.83 -2.15%
American Express Co. (AXP) $165.43 -2.01%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $145.09 -1.89%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $129.82 -1.82%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $176.43 -1.73%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $43.10 -1.68%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $252.57 -1.62%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $176.33 -1.51%
S&P 500 – Risers
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $179.54 12.04%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $192.08 2.52%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $114.94 2.30%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $425.10 2.07%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $8.40 1.88%
Hess Corp. (HES) $124.96 1.54%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $46.64 1.48%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $20.28 1.42%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $51.06 1.42%
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $138.74 1.30%
S&P 500 – Fallers
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $237.38 -8.85%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $58.92 -5.95%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $15.20 -5.06%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $39.80 -4.53%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $45.51 -4.45%
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) $31.59 -4.33%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $55.61 -4.24%
Moody’s Corp. (MCO) $288.85 -4.22%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $33.54 -4.06%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $266.39 -4.05%
Nasdaq 100 – Risers
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $425.10 2.07%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $174.56 1.15%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $141.81 1.04%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $2,423.68 0.81%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $2,289.44 0.62%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $2,292.44 0.51%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $31.94 0.49%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $154.46 0.47%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $156.99 0.44%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $416.01 0.37%
Nasdaq 100 – Fallers
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $266.39 -4.05%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $17.19 -3.82%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $220.24 -3.25%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $47.23 -2.96%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $22.18 -2.85%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $76.38 -2.70%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $381.80 -2.51%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $356.32 -2.34%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $413.48 -2.27%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $101.42 -2.23%
