Mid-Afternoon Market Update: U.S. Stocks Turn Negative After Fed Reserve Cuts Rates

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.21% to 27,140.67 while the NASDAQ fell around 0.1% to 8,265. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.17% to 3,007.99.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Real estate shares climbed 0.4% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included The GEO Group, Inc. GEO, up 7%, and Griffin Industrial Realty, Inc. GRIF, up 6%.

In trading on Wednesday, consumer staples shares fell 1.4%.

Top Headline

In a move that was widely expected, the Federal Reserve issued its first 0.25% interest rate cut since 2008 on Wednesday. Despite the cut, the Fed reassured investors that the U.S. economy is solid and the labor market remains strong.

The Fed also decided to end its balance sheet asset sales prior to its previous September target date.

Equities Trading UP

Enphase Energy, Inc. ENPH shares shot up 30% to $28.22 after the company reported upbeat Q2 results.

Shares of Quad/Graphics, Inc. QUAD got a boost, shooting up 32% to $11.42 after reporting upbeat Q2 earnings.

Unisys Corporation UIS shares were also up, gaining 21% to $12.75 after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 sales results and Q2 EPS higher from last year.

Equities Trading DOWN

2U, Inc. TWOU shares tumbled 65% to $12.82 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q2 EPS results. The company also issued Q3 and FY19 EPS guidance below analyst estimates and multiple firms downgraded the stock.

Shares of Castlight Health, Inc. CSLT were down 47% to $1.60 after the company reported downbeat Q2 results and issued weak FY19 forecast.

T2 Biosystems, Inc. TTOO was down, falling 58% to $0.6030 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q2 EPS and sales results. The company also issued FY19 sales guidance and multiple firms downgraded the stock.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.8% to $58.51, while gold traded down 0.6% to $1,433.00.

Silver traded down 1% Wednesday to $16.40, while copper fell 0.4% to $2.6675.

Euro zone

European shares closed mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.17%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.17%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index gained 0.56%. Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.34%, and the French CAC 40 rose 0.14% while UK shares fell 0.78%.

Economics

Private-sector employers added 156,000 jobs in July, payroll processor ADP reported. However, economists were projecting an increase of 155,000 jobs. ADP revised June's employment change from an initial 102,000 jobs to 112,000 jobs.

The employment cost index rose 0.6% for the second quarter.

The Chicago PMI fell to 44.4 in July, compared to a reading of 49.7 in June. However, economists were expecting a reading of 50.5.

U.S. crude supplies fell 8.5 million barrels for the week ended July 26, the Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts expected a drop of 3.9 million barrels. Gasoline inventories slipped 1.8 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles fell 900,000 barrels.

The Federal Reserve issued its first 0.25% interest rate cut since 2008 on Wednesday.

Data on farm prices for June will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.