U.S. stocks declined in morning trading Wednesday as investors weighed a batch of economic data and company earnings. The slide was broad, with technology stocks and consumer-focused companies accounting for the largest losses. Energy stocks also fell as crude oil prices headed lower.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 9 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,569 as of 11:14 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 98 points, or 0.4 percent, to 23,310. The Nasdaq composite slid 24 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,713. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 5 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,465.
ECONOMIC SNAPSHOTS: Traders were weighing new government data on inflation, retail sales and manufacturing. The Labor Department said consumer prices edged up 0.1 percent last month, the smallest gain in three months. The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.2 percent in October. And a closely watched report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed manufacturing expanded at a slower pace this month in New York, but remained at a healthy level.
REBOOT: Technology sector stocks, which have done far better than the rest of the market this year, were taking some of the biggest losses. Nvidia lost $4.80, or 2.2 percent, to $209.38. Macom Solutions Technology Holdings slumped 12.8 percent after the chipmaker’s latest quarterly results fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. The stock gave up $4.68 to $31.93.
MISSING THE MARK: Target slumped 9.4 percent after the retailer issued a weak profit forecast for the quarter including the holiday season. The stock was down $5.62 to $54.47.
IN A SELLING MOOD: IBM shares were down 1.2 percent after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it sold another chunk of the technology company’s stock. IBM declined $1.79 to $147.10.
HOME SWEET HOME: Beazer Homes USA climbed 3.9 percent after the homebuilder posted a far-larger profit and stronger sales than analysts expected. The stock gained 85 cents to $22.41.
OIL SLIDE: Crude oil prices pared some of their early losses. Benchmark U.S. crude was down 40 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $55.30 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was off 33 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $61.88 a barrel in London. A report from the International Energy Agency pointing to strong production growth in the years ahead, particularly in the U.S., has weighed on oil prices this week. That’s pulled down energy stocks, such as Marathon Petroleum. The stock was down $1.45, or 2.3 percent, to $61.02.
BOND YIELDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.36 percent from 2.37 percent late Tuesday.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 113.14 yen from 113.40 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1796 from $1.1794.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany’s DAX fell 0.5 percent, while the CAC 40 in France slid 0.2 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 0.4 percent lower. Earlier in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index tumbled 1.6 percent as manufacturers’ shares were stung by a stronger yen. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.0 percent, while Australia’s S&P ASX 200 fell 0.6 percent. The Kospi of South Korea declined 0.3 percent.
