Stocks closed lower on Wednesday as the previous session's positive montetum failed to continue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 200 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite declined by about 0.8% and 1%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -0.77% or -40.53 points to 5,199.50
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.60% or -234.21 points to 38,763.45
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -1.05% or -171.05 points to 16,195.81
At session highs, the Dow rose 480 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq jumped 1.7% and 2%, respectively, as market participants bought some shares at their lows from Monday's steep sell-off.
Sector News:
Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih downgraded the U.S. retail sector on Wednesday to Neutral from Positive as the sector is now seeing increasing proportional activity, which signals weakening demand.
"From this point in the recovery cycle, the only way to drive further margin expansion is leverage from accelerating sales above fixed-cost growth," Yih wrote in a note to clients. "We now believe that the majority of forward outlooks have fas less upside opportunity and, in fact, potential risk to sales and margins in 2H24."
On the Earnings Front:
Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) shares dropped Wednesday after the server company announced a 10-for-1 stock split following its disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report. The stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on Oct. 1.
For its first-quarter, Super Micro expects revenue between $6 billion and $7 billion and earnings per share in the range of $5.59 to $8.27, which are above and in-line with expectations, respectively.
Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, with its gross bookings notably rising 17% year-over-year to $4.0 billion. The ride-hailing services also reported a record high active riders during the quarter at 23.7 million, while its total rise rose 15% year-over-year to 205 million and its trips grew 21% annually to 2.8 billion -- representing 30 million trips per day.
For its third quarter, Lyft expects gross booking of $4.0 billion to $4.1 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $90 million to $95 million and adjusted EBITDA margin of roughly 2.3%. The company also expects to generate positive free cash full for its full year.
Disney (NYSE: DIS) also reported strong fiscal third-quarter earnings Wednesday, as the entertainment giant's streaming businesses became profitable ahead of its timeline. The combined streaming business posted an operating profit of $47 million compare with a loss of $12 million in the previous period. Disney+ Core subscribers also increase by 1% to 118.3 million, despite the company's previous guidance for now new additions during the quarter, while its Hulu segment grew by 2% to 51.1 million.
"We're seeing growth in consumption and the popularity of our offerings, which gives us the pricing leverage we believe we have," CEO Bob Iger said during an earnings call with analysts speaking on the company's announced price hikes across its streaming offerings.
Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) shares were under pressure on Wednesday after the vacation rental platfrom delivered weaker-than-expected second-quarter results and warned of broader waning consumer demand.
For its third-quarter, the company expects revenue of $3.67 billion to $3.73 billion, but guides for moderation in year-over-year growth for its key "Nights and Experiences" business. It also cautioned it was "seeing shorter booking lead times globally and some signs of slowing demand from U.S. guestates.
CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) cut its full-year profit outlook for the third consecutive quarter on Wednesday and announced a new plan to cut $2 billion in expenses over several years as higher medical costs impact the company. The company new expects 2024 adjusted earnings of $6.40 to $6.65 per share and unadjusted earnings of $4.95 to $5.20 per share, down from previous guidance of at least $7 per share and $5.64 per share, respectively.
"We are disappointed by the current performance and outlook for the health-care benefit segment, and I have decided to make leadership changes effective immediately," CEO Karen Lynch said during the company's earnings call with analysts.
For Thursday:
Another round of quarterly earnings will hit Wall Street, including reports from companies like Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD), Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD), Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO), Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) and Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG).