The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite saw losses deepen late Wednesday as major benchmarks notched their third-straight day of losses. The Dow has officially closed out the month of August with a loss, following July's lofty gain.
Dow Jones Limping Into September
The Dow fell 0.9% while the S&P 500 traded 0.8% lower. Small caps also struggled, with the Russell 2000 index losing 0.5%. The Nasdaq fared better than blue chips, but still lost 0.6%.
For the month of August, the Dow Jones and Nasdaq are down 3.6% and 4.2%, respectively. The S&P 500 closed the month with a 3.7% loss.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 31511.22 | -279.65 | -0.88 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 3955.02 | -31.14 | -0.78 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 11816.20 | -66.94 | -0.56 |
| Russell 2000 | 183.41 | -1.21 | -0.66 | |
| IBD 50 | 28.28 | -0.11 | -0.39 | |
Last Update: 4:14 PM ET 8/31/2022 |
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The major indexes continue to fall below their 50-day moving averages after dropping below that support level Tuesday. The breakdowns may signal further moves to the downside.
Volume is lower on the Nasdaq and barely higher on the NYSE, compared to the same time on Tuesday.
Crude oil futures continued to lose ground after Tuesday's steep sell-off. The commodity has given up 3% and is trading below $90 per barrel. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield is up slightly, to 3.13%.
Communication services is the only sector to trade higher while all other S&P 500 sectors are flashing red. Materials and technology stocks have fared the worst so far.
Dow Jones Today
Dow Jones components are struggling, with Salesforce.com performing the worst. The tech leader lost 2.2% as shares fell below important levels of support at the 50-day and 21-day lines.
Merck lost 1.75% and was among top decliners. The prescription drug developer undercut the low of a flat base under construction since June.
Chevron continues to deepen its loss this week after a brief rally fizzled out. The oil and gas giant lost 2% Wednesday and remains below a 182.50 buy point of a cup base.
Shares dropped into a test of support at their 21-day moving average near 158, further below a more aggressive buy point in the mid 160s.
On the upside, Walgreens and Amgen were outperforming, but pared early gains into the close.
Tech Stocks To Watch: Snap Rises On Layoff News
Shares of Snap jumped 8.7% after the social media firm announced its plan to cut 20% of its workforce of more than 6,000 people, as part of a companywide restructuring effort.
"It has become clear that we must reduce our cost structure to avoid incurring significant ongoing losses," Snap Chief Executive Evan Spiegel said in a memo to staff, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
"We must now face the consequences of lower revenue growth and adapt to the market environment."
The stock has been in a steep downtrend since the end of 2021. Several negative earnings reports in 2022 have delivered serious setbacks.
In other tech-related news, shares of CrowdStrike fell 5.5% following its second-quarter results, released Tuesday evening. The drop comes even though the cybersecurity software company handily beat estimates on the top and bottom lines.
CrowdStrike reported adjusted earnings of 36 cents per share on revenue of $535.2 million. Analysts expected earnings of 28 cents on revenue of $516 million, according to FactSet. Year-over-year revenue grew an impressive 58%.
