Stocks decline for a 2nd straight day
Technology firms led U. S. stocks lower Wednesday, extending losses from the day earlier and giving the market its biggest drop since early September.
Grocery stores and packaged foods and beverage f irms also accounted for much of the decline. Energy stocks fell as the price of crude oil slipped further the day after its biggest loss since October. Banks and phone companies eked out modest gains.
Unlike October's broad market rally, fewer stocks and sectors have been rising this month, noted Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird. The major indexes are all in the red for the month, but they still are near record highs.
Stocks fell Wednesday as investors weighed government data on inf lation, retail sales and manufacturing.
The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.2% in October. A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed manufacturing expanded at a slower pace in New York but remained at a healthy level. The Labor Department said consumer prices edged up 0.1% last month, the smallest gain in three months.
Uncertainty over Senate Republicans’ tax bill contributed to market unease.
The VIX index, which tracks expected price swings in the Standard & Poor’s 500, jumped 13% on Wednesday, a three- month high. A sell- off in high- yield bonds may be another red f lag. “Some folks are looking for the economy maybe to slow next year,” Bittles said.
Tech stocks took some of the biggest losses. Nvidia fell 2% to $ 209.98. Macom Technology Solutions Holdings sank 18% to $ 30.02 after its results disappointed.
IBM fell 1.2% to $ 147.10 after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it had sold another chunk of IBM stock.
Makers of consumer products also fell. General Mills slid 2.9% to $ 52.53.
Target slumped 9.9% to $ 54.16 — the biggest decliner in the S& P 500 — after the retailer issued a weak profit forecast for the quarter that includes the holiday season.
In extended trading, Procter & Gamble rose 3% after activist investor Nelson Peltz said that an independent vote count shows he actually won election to P& G’s board. P& G said the count’s results are preliminary. During regular trading, P& G fell 0.7% to $ 88.23.
Benchmark U. S. crude fell 37 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $ 55.33 a barrel. Brent crude fell 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $ 61.87 a barrel. A report from the International Energy Agency pointing to strong production growth in the years ahead has weighed on oil prices this week. Wholesale gasoline fell 2 cents to $ 1.74 a gallon. Heating oil was little changed at $ 1.91 a gallon. Natural gas fell 2 cents to $ 3.08 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gold fell $ 5.20 to $ 1,277.70 an ounce. Silver slid 10 cents to $ 16.97 an ounce. Copper fell 1 cent to $ 3.06 a pound.
The dollar fell to 112.89 yen from 113.40 yen. The euro stayed at $ 1.1794.