S&P 500 Down 0.5%; Abercrombie & Fitch Earnings Top Views

U.S. stocks traded lower toward the end of trading, with the S&P 500 falling around 0.5% on Wednesday.

The Dow traded down 0.97% to 38,474.85 while the NASDAQ fell 0.28% to 16,972.28. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.54% to 5,277.30.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Information technology shares fell by just 0.2% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, energy shares dipped by 1.9%.

Top Headline

Abercrombie & Fitch Co ANF posted better-than-expected first-quarter financial results and raised guidance.

The company reported first-quarter FY24 sales growth of 22% year-on-year to $1.02 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $ 963.26 million. Comparable sales jumped 21%. Adjusted EPS of $2.14 beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.73.

Equities Trading UP
                       

• ReShape Lifesciences Inc. RSLS shares shot up 38% to $0.2863 after the company announced that it received a notice of allowance for its U.S. patent application 17/572,387 titled “INTRAGASTRIC DEVICE (FOR TREATING OBESITY)”
• Shares of Brand Engagement Network, Inc. BNAI got a boost, surging 86% to $2.3603 after the company announced a $4.95 million private placement and appointed Paul Chang to Co-CEO.
• Innovative Eyewear, Inc. LUCY shares were also up, gaining 126% to $0.9263 after the company launched its Eddie Bauer Smart Eyewear collection.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Cue Health Inc. HLTH shares dropped 23% to $0.0699 after the company announced that it filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the District of Delaware to pursue a wind down of its business.
• Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. AAL were down 15% to $11.40 after the company announced the departure of its executive vice president and lowered guidance for the second quarter.
• Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc FFIE was down, falling 45% to $0.6461. Faraday Future's annual report for fiscal year 2023 showed a revenue of $0.8 million, significantly below analyst estimates of $2.59 million. While the net loss narrowed from $602 million in 2022 to $432 million in 2023, it still paints a concerning financial picture.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.7% to $79.26 while gold traded down 0.7% at $2,341.00.

Silver traded up 0.7% to $32.375 on Wednesday, while copper fell 1.4% to $4.7895.

Euro zone

European shares were lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 1.08%, Germany's DAX slipped 1.10% and France's CAC 40 declined 1.52%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 1.16%, while London's FTSE 100 declined 0.86%.

The manufacturing confidence index in Italy climbed to 88.4 in May versus a revised reading of 87.7 in the prior month, while consumer confidence index in Italy rose to 96.4 in May versus 95.2 a month ago.

Bank lending to households in the Eurozone rose by 0.2% year-over-year in April, compared to market estimates of 0.4%. The consumer confidence indicator in France came in unchanged at 90 in May, while German GfK Consumer Climate Indicator climbed to -20.9 heading into June versus a revised reading of -24.0 in the prior period.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei falling 0.77%, China's Composite Index gaining 0.05%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 1.83% and India's S&P BSE Sensex falling 0.89%.

The consumer confidence index in Japan declined to 36.2 in May versus 38.3 in the prior month, while Domestic Supply Price Index in Singapore fell 0.1% year-over-year for April.

Economics

Mortgage applications in the US declined by 5.7% from the prior week during the period ending May 24.

The Dallas Fed general business activity index for Texas’ service sector declined to -12.1 in May compared to -10.6 a month ago.

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