(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) U.S. stocks trimmed losses by Wednesday close with the Dow and the S&P 500 ending slightly below record levels while the Nasdaq settled in positive territory.
At the closing bell in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3 points to close at 17612 while the S&P 500 dropped 2 points to end at 2038 narrowing losses from earlier in the session. The Nasdaq turned positive adding 14 points to settle at 4675.
Stocks closed essentially flat on Tuesday amid thin volumes on Veteran's Day but both the Dow and the S&P 500 managed to eke out their fifth straight record closings.
It was another light day in terms of economic data Wednesday. The government reported wholesale inventories in September rose 0.3% as expected compared to a 0.7% advance in August.
In corporate activity retail earnings were a focus today with Macy's () reporting before the bell third quarter earnings that beat estimates while revenues fell short. The retailer's third quarter same store sales fell 0.7% compared to an expected gain of 1.3% and it also cut its full year earnings outlook. Shares added more than 5% Wednesday.
J.C. Penney () reports quarterly results after the closing bell today as does ().
() shares surged over 8% after the company last night posted earnings and revenue for its latest quarter that topped forecasts and also announced a $1 billion stock buyback program.
J.M. Smucker () fell more than 3.5% after cutting its outlook for the year as its Folgers coffee brand was hurt by a decline in sales.
In other stock news five global banks -- Citigroup () HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) JPMorgan () Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE:RBS) and () -- have been fined a total of $3.4 billion by US and European regulators for allegedly trying to rig foreign exchange markets. Citigroup dropped 0.7% while JPMorgan shed 1.3%.
According to a report from Reuters at least two Yahoo () shareholders are asking CEO Tim Armstrong to explore a merger and run the combined company. Meanwhile Yahoo has agreed to buy digital ad platform Brightroll for $640 million. Yahoo gained 3.1% today.
European markets finished broadly lower today with shares in Germany off the most as oil prices and banks weighed. Asian markets all finished higher with Japanese stocks scaling seven year highs on further speculation that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will postpone a planned sales tax hike and call for a general election in December.
Gold prices slipped $3.90 to finish at $1159.10 an ounce. Light sweet crude futures for delivery in December fell 76 cents or 1% to finish at $77.18 a barrel the lowest settlement in more than three years as investors continued to worry about oversupply. The International Energy Agency said the slide in crude prices may cut investment in US shale oil by 10% next year slowing growth.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.