Slowing Economic Growth Has Stocks Trading Lower

GuruFocus.com
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- By Julie Young

U.S. market indexes were mixed in trading on Wednesday.

For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18,526.14 for a loss of 11.98 points or 0.06%. The Standard & Poor's 500 was also lower, closing at 2,186.15 for a loss of 0.33 points or 0.02%. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 5,283.93 for a gain of 8.02 points or 0.15%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower for the day at 11.91 for a loss of 0.11 points or 0.92%.


In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led losses for the day:

  • Walmart (WMT) -1.29%.

  • Home Depot (HD) -0.98%.

  • Procter & Gamble (PG) -0.78%.

  • Merck (MRK) -0.59%.

  • JPMorgan (JPM) -0.42%.

On Wednesday investors continued to watch the economic data. Leading data reports on the calendar for the day included Mortgage Applications, the PMI Services Index and the Beige Book. Mortgage applications gained with an increase of 0.9%. The PMI Services Index missed expectations and was also below the previous month's report. The August report showed the index at a level of 51.0 which was just below the estimate of 51.2 and down from the previous month's report of 51.4. The Beige Book reported the outlook for economic growth as moderate. Also noted in the Beige Book was the Federal Reserve's consideration of the November election and how it might affect the economy.

Large-cap stock indexes traded lower for the day after signs of slowing growth from the PMI Services Index followed Tuesday's weak services report and last week's lower reports on manufacturing.

A CNBC report Wednesday provided more insight on the day's trading and the Fed's outlook for the economy.

Disclosure: I do not own any stocks included in this article.

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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


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