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Stock Market News For Apr 25, 2019

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Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday following mixed financial results for the first quarter of 2019. All three major stock indexes closed in negative territory. Notably, On Apr 23, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite recorded new all-time highs. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) closed at 26,597.05, declining 0.2%. The S&P 500 Index (INX) decreased 0.2% to close at 2,927.25. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) closed at 8,102.01, shedding 0.2%. A total of 6.57 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 6.75 billion shares. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1.01-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, decliners had an edge over advancers by 1.09-to-1 ratio.  The CBOE VIX increased 7% to close at 13.14. 

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow ended in negative territory with 18 stocks of the 30-stock blue-chip index finishing in the red while twelve ended in green. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite finished in the red owing to poor performance by large cap stocks. The S&P 500 also closed in the red. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) plunged 1.8%.  Notably, six out of eleven sectors of the benchmark index closed in the red while five finished in the green.

Mixed First-Quarter Earnings Results

Most of the earnings released on Wednesday failed to enthuse investors.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT - Free Report) delivered adjusted earnings per share of $2.94 in first-quarter 2019, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.84. Revenues improved 5% year over year to $13.5 billion, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.4 billion. Despite strong results, shares of Caterpillar plunged 3.1% owing to a 4% drop in construction revenues in Asia Pacific region, especially in China. Management warned of a possible slowdown in its China business. (Read More)

AT&T Inc. (T - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings for the quarter were 86 cents per share beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. Quarterly consolidated revenues increased 17.8% year over year to $44,827 million. The top line, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $45,093 million. Shares of AT&T plummeted 4.1% following the earnings result. (Read More)

Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2019 earnings of $5.06 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.59. The company reported total sales of $8,189 million, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8,316 million. Shares of Northrop Grumman tumbled 4.3% following the earnings result. (Read More)

All three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Trade Talks to Restart

The United States and Chins is set to restart high-level advanced round of trade negotiations in Beijing on Apr 30. On Apr 17, both The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported that the United States and China are trying hard to reach a deal to end the prolonged trade-related conflict by early May. President Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping could sign the deal later that month or the first week of June.

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