The Dow was down for the first time in seven sessions in the first real interruption of June's stock market rally, while the S&P pulled back by about 1% following gains yesterday that saw the benchmark index eliminate its losses for the year. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq continues to be strong and crossed above 10,000 for the first time ever, though it couldn't hold that round number level into the close.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In U.S. data, the JOLTS report showed job openings fell to 5.05M in April. The wholesale trade report undershot estimates, with a record 16.9% drop in sales and small downward bumps for inventories in both March and April.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Macy's (M) slid 7.3% after the department store operator issued an update on its preliminary estimate of first quarter losses and sales. "The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted our first quarter sales and earnings results, but I am proud of the way our team navigated this difficult period and maintained the business while our stores were closed. Our strong digital business sales trend continued throughout May, and it is encouraging to see that as we reopen a store, the digital business in that geography continues to be strong. By June 1, we had approximately 450 stores reopened, with the majority opened in their full format. Our reopened stores are performing better than anticipated," Macy's chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette told investors.
Also in the retail space, Signet Jewelers (SIG) shares fell 16.2% after the company reported mixed Q1 results despite saying customer response has been "positive" as it has reopened more stores.
Boeing (BA) reported today that its commercial 2020 net orders declined 602 through May 31, 2020. The orders declined 516 through April. Boeing's backlog of aircraft shrunk to 4,774 through May, the smallest since 2013, CNBC noted.
Apple (AAPL) is preparing to announce a shift to its own main processors in Mac computers, replacing chips from Intel (INTC), as early as this month at its annual developer conference, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported. Meanwhile, MacRumors' Joe Rossignol reported, citing a paywalled DigiTimes article, that Apple is said to be set to finish the validation and testing stage for its upcoming iPhone 12 line at the end of June and will start production of the new models in July.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Facebook (FB), which rose 3.1% after Goldman Sachs analyst Heather Bellini raised her price target on the stock to $250, citing the company's opportunity to increase the number of small business advertisers and spend per advertiser with its Shop and Checkout offerings.
Also higher were shares of Cloudera (CLDR), which jumped 18.6% after Bloomberg's Liana Baker and Crystal Tse said the company is working with a financial adviser to evaluate its options, including a potential sale, after receiving takeover interest.
Among the notable losers was Chesapeake Energy (CHK), which was pointing lower in pre-market trading before the shares were halted for news pending before today's opening bell. Chesapeake Energy is preparing a potential bankruptcy filing, Bloomberg reported last night, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Chesapeake trading resumed a bit before 1 pm ET and the stock was subsequently halted for volatility many times before the close. Chesapeake shares finished 65.8% lower at $23.75.
Also lower was Conn's (CONN), which fell 21.1% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow lost 300.14, or 1.09%, to 27,272.30, the Nasdaq gained 29.01, or 0.29%, to 9,953.75, and the S&P 500 declined 25.21, or 0.78%, to 3,207.18.
