Stocks slipped lower Wednesday as a decline in growth stocks pressured the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 50 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite lost about 0.6% and 1.2%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -0.58% or -29.20 points to 5,022.21
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.12% or -45.66 points to 37,753.31
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -1.15% or -181.88 points to 15,683.37
Moving Markets:
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book released Wednesday showed that the U.S. economy "expanded slightly" over the past six months while prices rose modestly higher and the labor market showed some gains.
"Consumer spending barely increased overall, but reports were quite mixed across Districts and spending categories," according to the report released Wednesday. "Several reports mentioned weakness in discretionary spending, as consumers' price sensitivity remained elevated."
On the Earnings Front:
United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) shares popped higher on Wednesday after the carrier issued a stronger-than-expected current quarter forecast despite its first-quarter earnings being pressured by delivery delays from Boeing (NYSE: BA).
For the second-quarter, United expects earnings between $3.75 and $4.25 per share. The airline also reiterated its full-year earnings guidance of between $9 and $11 per share. Meanwhile, United also reduced its full-year delivery expectations, now forecasting to receive 61 narrow-body planes, down from 101 it previously anticipated earlier this year.
"We've adjusted our fleet plan to better reflect the reality of what the manufacturers are able to deliver," CEO Scott Kirby said in a release. "And, we'll use those planes to capitalized on an opportunity that only United has: profitably grow our mid-continent hubs and expand our highly profitable international network from our best in the industry coastal hubs."
ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) shares came under pressure Wednesday after the chipmaker's first-quarter sales disappointed analysts despite its quarterly profit beat.
"Our outlook for the full year 2024 is unchanged, with the second half of the year expected to be stronger than the first half, in line with the industry's continued recovery from the downturn," CEO Peter Wennink said in a statement. "We see 2024 as a transition year with continued investments in both capacity ramp and technology, to be ready for the turn in the cycle."
In Single-Stock News:
Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) on Wednesday said it's popular weight loss drug Zepbound demonstrated potential to treat sleep apnea in two late-stage clinical trials. The company said it plans to submit the results to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and global regulators in mid-2024.
"Addressing this unmet need head-on is critical, and while there are pharmaceutical treatments for the excessive sleepiness associated with OSA, [Zepbound] has the potential to be the first pharmaceutical treatment for the underlying disease," Dr. Jeff Emmick, senior vice president of product development at Eli Lilly, said in the release.
For Thursday:
Market participants will react to more housing market data for March as well as another string of Fedspeak as they continue to gauge the timeline of interest rate cuts. Earnings reports from companies including Alaska Air (NYSE: ALK), Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) are also set to report.