US stocks lower into close
Dow Jones down 136 after earnings disappoint
But durable goods data and house sales better than expected
Wall Street shares are firmly lower into the close.
The Dow Jones is down 136 at 23,305, after a clutch of disappointing earnings reports, while the S&P 500 is down 14.52 at 2,554.
The tech heavy Nasdaq index is down 41 at 6,557.
The oil price lost 0.50% to US$52.22 a barrel.
In Toronto, the TSX is down almost 66 points to stand at 15,839.
MID-SESSION
US stocks joined in the European equity sell-off and were lower at mid-session, with the Dow Jones down 165 points.
The S&P 500 shed over 18 points at 2,550, while the Nasdaq lost over 50 points at 6,547.
The oil price shed 0.82%, with West Texas Intermediate, standing at US$52.04 a barrel.
In Toronto, the TSX - the biggest index there - lost over 67 points, at 15,837.
Earlier, FTSE 100 in London closed 1.05% lower at 7,447.
On the heels of durable goods data earlier, sales of new US homes jumped last month to the highest level since October 2007.
The figure jumped 18.9% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 667,000, the most in a decade.
In equities, shares in Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) sank 4.03% to US$255.27 to make it the biggest percentage faller on the Dow Jones.
It came as even better than-expected third-quarter results couldn't support the recent sharp run up in the stock.
(US) New home sales come in at their highest level since October 2007. Still 52% below their peak in July 2005 - @charliebilello pic.twitter.com/nTIVpuPw0N
— Juan-Manuel Renero (@jmrenero) 25 October 2017
OPEN
US stocks, as indicated by futures, started lower on Wednesday as traders mulled data and awaited ' Tech Super Thursday'.
The Dow Jones added 14.30 at 23,428, while the S&P500 added over six points to 2,563 on the day.
The tech heavy Nasdaq is down 11.15 to 6,587.
It comes despite latest data on durable goods orders (products made in USA) which came in well above expectations.
“President Trump will be heartened by today’s durable goods orders, which have come in well above expectations and point towards a manufacturing sector performing strongly, despite an uncertain economic backdrop.
“The challenge for Trump will be maintaining this momentum, with a big decision due in the coming weeks on the future Janet Yellen as Fed chair," said Dennis de Jong at UFX.com.
Among the top losers was fast food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), which lost 13.19% to US$281.53 after its quarterly numbers were worse than expected.
Wall Street brokers started the day with some early morning downgrades.
JP Morgan dropped its target price to US$315 per share, from US$380, whereas Stifel Nicolaus moved its bar down to US$310 from US$345.
Chipotle reported a disappointing third quarter with a release after hours on Tuesday, with earnings stated at US$1.33 versus market expectations for US$1.63 per share.
The quarter’s revenue was reported at US$1.13bn which was below the US$1.14bn market consensus.
Also lower was Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which shed 0.94% to US$48.48 each. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which surged 5% yesterday after cheering with its results pulled back a tad - 0.93% - to US$136.95.