Stock Market Watch

Stocks End Sharply Lower

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Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, with all three major indexes finishing the day near session lows, as some disappointing economic data weighed down investors’ sentiment.

The Dow Jones ended the day 0.94% lower at 14,700.95, the S&P 500 ended the day 0.93% lower at 1,582.70, and the Nasdaq ended the day 0.89% lower at 3,299.13.

All sectors in the S&P 500 ended the day sharply lower. Basic Materials sector led the losses in the S&P 500, ending the day 1.82% lower. Transportation sector also fell sharply, ending the day 1.66% lower. Energy sector ended the day 1.46% lower. Financials fell 1.01%, while Healthcare sector fell 1.15%.

Among the major movers in trading on Wednesday were MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE: PCS), which ended the day 112.04% higher at $16.52, Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), which ended the day 2.79% lower at $45.69, Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL), which ended the day 1.16% higher at $33.16, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which ended the day 0.79% lower at $439.29, and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), which ended the day 1.22% lower at $27.43.

On the economic front, a report showed that manufacturing activity slowed down in the month of April. Meanwhile, construction spending fell to a seven-month low in March. A report from ADP showed that the private sector added just 119,000 jobs in April.

The Federal Reserve released its monetary policy statement on Wednesday. As expected, the Fed maintained its stimulus program. The Fed, however, said in a statement that it will increase or decrease the pace of its asset purchases to maintain the appropriate policy as the outlook for labor market or inflation changes.

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.

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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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