U.S. Stocks Fluctuate Before Closing Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Wednesday before ending the day mostly lower. With the decrease on the day, the major averages extended the pullback seen in the previous session.

The major averages climbed well off their worst levels in afternoon trading but still closed in negative territory. The Dow fell 176.89 points or 0.5 percent to 32,813.23, the Nasdaq declined 86.93 points or 0.7 percent to 11,994.46 and the S&P 500 slid 30.92 points or 0.8 percent to 4,101.23.

The lower close on Wall Street may partly have reflected a negative reaction to comments from JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon, who urged investors to brace for an economic hurricane.

"You know, I said there's storm clouds but I'm going to change it… it's a hurricane," Dimon said at a financial conference in New York, according to CNBC.

"You better brace yourself," he added. "JPMorgan is bracing ourselves and we're going to be very conservative with our balance sheet."

Negative sentiment may also have been generated in reaction to a Labor Department report showing job openings tumbled by 455,000 to 11.4 million in April.

Stocks also came under pressure amid a jump by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note climbing back above 2.9 percent.

The advance by yields came after the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly expanded at a slightly faster rate in the month of May.

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI inched up to 56.1 in May from 55.4 in April, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. The uptick surprised economists, who had expected the index to dip to 54.5.

Later in the trading day, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book said a majority of the twelve Fed districts have recently experienced slight or modest economic growth.

The Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts, said four districts explicitly noted that the pace of growth had slowed since the prior period.

Sector News

Airline stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, resulting in a 4.3 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

Considerable weakness was also visible among financial stocks, with the KBW Bank Index and the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index falling by 2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Semiconductor stocks also showed a significant move to the downside, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 1.6 percent.

Chemical, healthcare and biotechnology stocks also saw notable weakness, while energy stocks bucked the downtrend amid an increase by the price of crude oil.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index dipped by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries extended the notable pullback seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, advanced 8.7 basis points to 2.931 percent.

Looking Ahead

Reports on private sector employment, initial jobless claims and factory orders may attract attention on Thursday, although trading activity may be somewhat subdued ahead of the monthly jobs report on Friday.