Stocks slid a day after Fed Chair Powell's uncertainty over the pace of the economic recovery drove what appeared to be a delayed reaction to yesterday's policy update and press conference from the leader of the central bank. Meanwhile, profit taking may have also played a role following the tech-led gains on Monday and Tuesday of this week.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims fell 33,000 to 860,000 in the week ended September 12. Housing starts dipped 5.1% to a 1.416M pace in August. The Philly Fed index fell 2.2 points to 15.0 in September, which was weaker than expected.
TOP NEWS: There were a steady stream of reports about ByteDance's proposed agreement with Oracle (ORCL) over TikTok, with CNBC reporting that President Donald Trump is expected to rule on the agreement in the next 24-36 hours. CNBC's David Faber noted in his reporting that under the proposed deal, Oracle will own roughly 20% of the new entity and Walmart (WMT) will be involved in some capacity. Meanwhile, Bloomberg said that the U.S. Treasury Department sent ByteDance a revised terms sheet late yesterday and the company and Oracle have accepted it. The changes address national security concerns about the deal, according to Bloomberg. Later on, Reuters reported that ByteDance is planning a U.S. IPO of TikTok Global should the proposed deal with Oracle be cleared by the White House.
Shares of AstraZeneca (AZN) were in focus after CNN said that an internal safety report by the company sheds light on the neurological condition suffered by one of the participants in its coronavirus vaccine clinical trial, detailing how the 37-year-old study volunteer "experienced confirmed transverse myelitis" after receiving her second dose of the vaccine, and was hospitalized on September 5. In response, AstraZeneca disputed the report, saying it contains "inaccuracies," including the diagnosis, which is based on preliminary findings. The company added that the information shared by CNN "was not obtained from internal documents, but rather sent to investigators and doctors running trials that should not be shared because they contain confidential patient records."
Meanwhile, Moderna (MRNA) shares finished the day 1.4% lower after CEO Stephane Bancel said that the company anticipates a base plan for efficacy for the first interim readout of its coronavirus vaccine data to be in November and the best case scenario plan being in October. He also said October is unlikely, but it is possible and that the worst case scenario would be in December.
Additionally, shares of Ford (F) rose 3.7% after the car maker announced that its all-new F-150 pickup will be available in November, and that it is building an all-electric F-150 set to be ready by mid-2022. The new manufacturing center at the Dearborn-based Rouge Center, where the electric F-150 will be made, will add 300 jobs and is part of a $700M investment in building the all-new F-150 lineup, including the first-ever F-150 PowerBoost hybrid, the company said.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Sorrento Therapeutics (SRNE), which surged 13.4% after it received FDA clearance to proceed with its STI-1499 trial. Also higher was Herman Miller (MLHR), which gained 33.5% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Dave & Buster's (PLAY), which fell 26.1% after a Wall Street Journal report that the company has warned of bankruptcy potential. Also lower was Snowflake (SNOW), which declined 10.4% a day after the cloud technology company's record setting initial public offering.
INDEXES: The Dow fell 130.40, or 0.47%, to 27,901.98, the Nasdaq lost 140.19, or 1.27%, to 10,910.28, and the S&P 500 declined 28.48, or 0.84%, to 3,357.01.
Oracle
-0.23 (-0.38%)
Walmart
+0.4 (+0.29%)
AstraZeneca
+0.79 (+1.43%)
Moderna
-0.98 (-1.42%)
Ford
+0.26 (+3.70%)
Sorrento Therapeutics
+1.11 (+13.28%)
Herman Miller
+8.71 (+33.68%)
Dave & Buster's
-4.99 (-26.10%)
Nano-X Imaging
-8.68 (-23.59%)