US stocks do a U-turn and head south
ADP jobs number cheers but Fed minutes weigh
President Trump set to meet Chinese Premier tomorrow
US shares turned south into the close as details of the Fed minutes emerged.
Earlier stocks had been buoyed by a positive ADP jobs report, firming oil prices and heightening market confidence, but that evaporated as the minutes of the last FOMC meet came through.
Notably, the details that several Fed committee members anticipate that meaningful fiscal stimulus would likely not begin until 2018.
As widely reported and speculated upon, there has been much talk of rate rises this year as the economy grows
Also reportedly in the frame are plans by the Central Bank to reduce its $4.5 trillion balance sheet this year.
Perhaps dampening the mood are also jitters over President Trumps meeting with Xi Jinping- the Chinese President tomorrow.
In the markets, the Dow Jones fell over 40 points having been up around 140 earlier; the S&P 500 lost seven to 2,352 and the Nasdaq shed over 34 to close out at 5,864.
Energy stocks were among the losers as crude prices fell.
Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) was top loser on S&P500, down 3.32% to $6.11.
Among the gainers was stationery giant Staples (NYSE:SPLS), up 2.63% to $9.76 on the possible sales news.
MID-SESSION
US stocks are forging ahead at mid-session as the investor mood has been buoyed by jobs data.
After a few days of muted gains and losses, US benchmarks appear to be striding north again.
At the time of writing the Dow Jones is up 143 points at 20.833, the S&P500 is around 14 ahead at 2,374, while the tech heavy Nasdaq is over 29 to the good - at 5,927.
Indeed the latter set an intraday record, after the strong reading from the ADP payroll firm on private-sector hiring in March.
Employers added 263,000 jobs last month (March), up from a revised 245,000 in February, fueling confidence that the US economy is growing, a view reinforced by
Chis Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG Index, said: "The ADP payroll report came in ahead of expectations, giving markets reason to hope that Friday’s NFP update will be similarly strong.
He added: Attention now shifts to the Fed minutes this evening, which could potentially have more bearing on the outlook for the rest of the month."
In equities, Plug Power Inc (NYSE:PLUG) ramped up over 72% as it announced a deal with Amazon.com, Inc - the globe's largest online retailer.
Shares in Neothetics Inc (NASDAQ:NEOT) climbed almost 30% to $2 a share as the specialty pharma firm revealed patent news on fat reduction candidate LIPO-202.
The patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is for specific methods of using LIPO-202 and other agents for the reduction of fat accumulation.
On the downside tech group TASER International Inc (NASDAQ: TASR) shed 1.73% to $21.62 as it said it would offer a one-year free trial of all its existing body camera products, full software suite and training support to every police agency in the USA.
OPEN
Wall Street shares opened higher as the payrolls firm ADP showed a strong reading on new hiring for last month (March)
The ADP stats are always a pre-cursor to Friday's big event - the official non-farm jobs data.
It showed that employers added 263,000 private sector jobs in March, up from a revised number of 245,000 in February.
A good jobs figure will heighten debate over the timing and quantity of rate rises this year.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones added 173 point to 20,862 and the S&P500n gained over 15 at 2,375.
The tech heavy Nasdaq added over 25 points to stand at 5,924.
The price of US crude was also climbing on expectations of a fall in stockpiles of the black stuff.
West Texas Intermediate is up 1.61% at the time of writing at US$51.84 per barrel.
In equities, Panera Bread Co (NYSE: PNRA) was up almost 14% at $312.16 as the restaurant chain reached a deal to be acquired by privately held JAB Holding Co for $7.5bn.
Elsewhere, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ: WBA) fell over 1% to $81.55 after the drugstore operator posted weaker-than-expected quarterly results. It was the biggest laggard on S&P500.
The biggest gainer was Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) up 3.72% to $6.55 on the oil price rise.
PREVIEW
Futures trading is pointing to a higher start on Wall Street continuing yesterday's gains.
The Dow Jones closed Tuesday up 39 points at 20,689; the S&P500 added 1.32 to 2,360 and the Nasdaq added 3.93 to go to 5,898.
Today, Dow futures are 18 ahead; the S&P500 is up one and Nasdaq futures are flat.
In London, FTSE 100 is around nine points higher at 7,331, while US benchmark crude (WTI) is 1.18% higher at $51.65 a barrel.
Yesterday, trading was choppy and stocks lost ground earlier in the session despite positive trade deficit data and as investors get jittery about President Trumps meeting with the Chinese Premier tomorrow.
There are also Fed minutes due today and also a jobs report coming out on Friday.
Giant food company Monsanto (NYSE:MON) is reporting ahead of the bell.
Shares in pre-market are up 0.79% at $ 115.66 as the group is projected to report quarterly earnings at $2.79 per share on revenue of $4.73bn.
General Communication Inc (NASDAQ: GNCMA) shares surged on Tuesday over 62% as it and Liberty Interactive Corporation (Nasdaq: QVCA, QVCB, LVNTA, LVNTB) announced a definitive agreement whereby Liberty Interactive will acquire GCI through a reorganization.
Also nudging higher in pre-market deals is Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX) , up 1.4%, as its Indonesian subsidiary has been granted a temporary permit to export copper from its Grasberg mine, breaking a 12 week deadlock that had cut supply to Asian smelters.