US stocks close mainly lower
US crude prices falls on stockpile data
IBM results disappoint
Wall Street benchmarks were mainly lower at the close.
The Dow Jones shed 118 at 20,404.
The broader based S&P500 fell just over four points at 2,388, but the tech heavy Nasdaq exchange bucked the trend and closed around 13 higher at 5,863.
In Toronto, the main TSX index closed down 75 points, or 0.48% at 15,547.
US crude (WTI) is down 3.61% at $50.52 at the time of writing, as US inventory data was published, showing the pace of declines were slower than expected.
MID-SESSION
Wall Street shares were still mixed at mid-session, with the Dow Jones now down over 80 points.
The index is at 20,445 at the time of writing.The Nasdaq is however up 22 at 5,872 and the S&P500 is up a tad- 0.37- to stand at 2,342.
US crude is down over 4% to US$50.26 a barrel as data showed US stockpiles were declining slower than thought and there was another rise in output.
Prices per barrel of the black stuff were on course for the biggest daily percentage drop since early March.
In shares, biotech Soligenix Inc (NASDAQ: SNGX) was a notable gainer - up over 57% as it reported encouraging findings from its ricin toxin vaccine program,
Argos Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: ARGS) added over 53% after it announced interim results of the Phase 3 ADAPT trial of Rocapuldencel-T and decision to continue the clinical trial.
In bigger caps, energy companies are falling on the oil price. Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) sank 3.72% to $15.16 and Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) gave up 1.15% to $61.98.
IBM (NYSE:IBM) shed almost 5% to $161.86 as it reported its 20th quarterly decline in revenue in a row as the group continued to address struggles in its legacy businesses.
Revenue fell 2.8% to US$18.2bn in the first quarter while net income dropped 13% to US$1.8bn.
The technology services and cloud platforms business, which accounted for about 45% of total revenue, was affected by weak demand for IT services. The division saw revenue drop 2.5% to $8.2bn.
OPEN
US shares are mixed at the open with the Dow Jones in negative territory and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 positive.
It comes as earnings reports are once again taking centre stage.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) shares gained 2.91% to $42.41 as its results for the first quarter cheered the market after Goldman Sachs' numbers disappointed yesterday.
Morgan's chief executive James Gorman said: "We reported one of our strongest quarters in recent years.
"All our businesses performed well in improved market conditions. We are confident in our business model and the opportunities ahead, while recognizing that the environment remains uncertain."
The Dow Jones is down over four at the time of writing, at 20, 519 , while the S&P500 is up over nine points to 2,351. The tech heavy Nasdaq exchange is doing well - up over 35 points to 5,885.
In Toronto, the TSX Composite Index is ahead- up almost 44 points at 15,666.
In the UK, the general election on June 8 looks to have got the go-ahead after MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour.
PREVIEW
Wall Street shares are set to open higher after yesterday's losses amid more corporate earnings.
Yesterday, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) was among the biggest losers on S&P500 as its first quarter numbers were a decided disappointment.
Today, rival Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is up 1.7% in pre-market with shares at $41.21 after it gave the market stronger-than-anticipated results.
In London, the shock of the PM's snap election for June appears to be calming down, with the FTSE 100 recovered to 7,132 - down around 15.
She is now facing MPs in the Commons in question and answer session ahead of a vote to hold the election.
Yesterday, on Wall Street, the Dow Jones finished 113 lower at 20,523. The tech heavy Nasdaq closed over seven down at 5,849, while the S&P500 shed 6.82 at 2,342.
In futures trading today, the Dow Jones is 26 higher, the S&P500 is up 5.95 and the Nasdaq is over 15 points higher.
Chris Beauchamp, analyst at spreadbetter IG Index, said: "US markets had a wobble yesterday but a better performance from the small-cap end of things points to a growing appetite to buy back into equities."
On the corporate calendar today, there is a US crude oil inventories report and results from Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) and Amercian Express (NYSE: AXP).
Morgan Stanley easily beats Wall Street estimates as bond trading revenue doubles; shares surge https://t.co/8eVoEoU47U pic.twitter.com/SKwQnDIaXx
— SimamsProperties (@SimamsProperty) 19 April 2017