Source: Sharecast
As of 1440 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.12% at 45,655.06, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.51% to 6,545.98 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.42% firmer at 21,970.80.
The Dow opened 56.28 points lower on Wednesday, taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session, when all three major indices managed to see out the day at fresh record closes.
US wholesale prices edged lower in August, defying expectations for a modest increase and offering a potential reprieve for Federal Reserve policymakers ahead of next week's rate decision. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, headline PPI fell 0.1% month-on-month, following a 0.7% rise in July, defying economists expectations for a 0.3% increase. On an annualised basis, PPI eased to 2.6%, while core PPI, which strips out volatile food, energy and trade services, rose 0.3% month-on-month and 2.8% year-on-year, marking its strongest annual gain since March. The monthly decline was largely attributed to a 0.2% drop in final demand services, offsetting a 0.1% uptick in goods prices.
Wednesday's PPI release comes ahead of Thursday's consumer price index print, which was expected to show headline inflation rising to 2.9% annually. Together, the two reports will help shape expectations for the Fed’s September policy meeting, where markets are pricing in a potential pivot toward easing.
Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications surged 9.2% in the week ended 5 September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. Last week's drop fully erased the drop from three consecutive weeks following a 15bps plunge in benchmark mortgage rates, which fell to their lowest in nearly a year, as a wave of disappointing labour market data pushed down yields on long-dated Treasury securities. Applications to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to short-term changes in interest rates, shot up 12.2% week-on-week, while applications to purchase a home rose by 6.6%.
Still to come, July wholesale inventories figures will be published at 1500 BST.
In the corporate space, Oracle shares surged after reporting that multicloud database revenues from Amazon, Google and Microsoft had grown a massive 1,529% last quarter, fueled by demand for AI servers.
No major earnings were slated for release on Wednesday.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $347.92 10.31%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $259.11 4.26%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $763.92 3.48%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $102.29 1.77%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $297.85 1.18%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $154.64 0.77%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $67.34 0.69%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $252.06 0.52%
Visa Inc. (V) $344.03 0.22%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $498.41 0.04%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.56 -1.83%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $234.35 -1.48%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $24.14 -1.47%
3M Co. (MMM) $153.02 -1.43%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $417.99 -1.18%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $415.34 -0.86%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $176.96 -0.82%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $273.55 -0.61%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $312.67 -0.59%
American Express Co. (AXP) $324.44 -0.58%
S&P 500 - Risers
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $5.63 18.53%
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) $48.81 12.52%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $347.92 10.31%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $48.57 9.56%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $31.06 7.18%
Amphenol Corp. (APH) $116.79 5.74%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $96.65 4.87%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $259.11 4.26%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $241.51 3.74%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $763.92 3.48%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Humana Inc. (HUM) $273.02 -11.33%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $72.58 -10.99%
Celanese Corp. (CE) $44.69 -8.31%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $82.28 -6.19%
Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) $72.40 -5.77%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $43.89 -5.29%
Brown Forman Corp. Class B (BF.B) $27.49 -5.02%
News Corp Class B (NWS) $32.45 -4.47%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $59.26 -4.37%
Dollar General Corp (DG) $104.57 -4.33%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $33.87 3.11%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $135.24 2.88%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $239.94 2.47%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $239.63 2.39%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $765.70 1.78%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $143.60 1.59%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $1,263.25 1.49%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $170.76 1.46%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $94.54 1.34%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $191.59 1.24%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $9.01 -7.97%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $96.30 -3.12%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $336.67 -2.60%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $13.91 -2.11%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $149.04 -1.67%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $268.66 -1.60%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $264.00 -1.52%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $234.35 -1.48%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $29.47 -1.47%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.76 -1.47%