US close: Stocks mostly lower, Dow hits four-month low

US stocks finished mostly lower Wednesday as investors digested key risk events, including ongoing fighting in the Middle East, another surge in the price of oil, and the latest inflation report.

The Dow finished 0.6% down at 47,417.27, marking its first close below the 47,500 mark since early December; the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 6,775.80; while the Nasdaq gained 0.1% to 22,716.13.

Brent crude was 4.8% higher at $91.98 a barrel by the close on reports that oil vessels had been hit by "projectiles" in the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran said to be laying mines in the key waterway.

US officials claimed military strikes had destroyed 16 mine-laying vessels in the strait, which accounts for 20% of global oil shipments and has been closed since the war started almost two weeks ago.

Wednesday's price surge came despite the International Energy Agency ordering the release of 400m barrels of oil reserves – the largest in its history – to help ease the supply and price spike crisis. However, speculation of the release was largely already priced into the market the previous session and so had little effect on prices on Wednesday, analysts said.

Oil prices hit $119.50 a barrel at the start of this week before plunging below $90 on reports the IEA was preparing to act. Economists fear a spike in inflation and falling share markets if the war continues.

“The longer the disruption goes on, the greater the impact on energy prices and in turn global inflation. This then has implications for interest rates too," said AJ Bell's head of financial analysis Danni Hewson. “While the data covers none of the current energy shock, there will be some relief that the latest reading for US inflation came in bang in line with forecasts. This suggests the picture for consumer prices was pretty stable before recent events intervened."

US consumer prices rose 0.3% in February after a 0.2% gain in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in line with expectations, while core CPI eased to 0.2% from 0.3%. The annual rate of inflation also met forecasts, holding steady at 2.4%, while the core annual rate was unchanged at 2.5%.

Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications rose 3.2% over the seven days ended 6 March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, with the fourth consecutive weekly increase taking applications to their second highest level since 2022.

Campbell's cuts FY guidance

Shares in foods group Campbell's Co slipped 7% after a weaker outlook for its snacks business prompted a downgrade to full-year guidance. The company said net sales were 5% down year-on-year in its second quarter at $2.6bn, leading to a "more cautious view for the balance of the year", with new sales and profit forecasts now lower than the last guidance given in December.

Shares of Netherlands-based, Nasdaq-listed Nebius surged 16% after Nvidia said it was investing $2bn in the artificial intelligence cloud company, with the latter's stock also finishing higher. Nvidia announced a strategic partnership with Nebius to develop and deploy the next generation of hyperscale cloud for the AI market, from AI natives to enterprises.

Oracle impressed the market with its third-quarter numbers and guidance for the next financial year, with the cloud infrastructure giant forecasting annual revenues of $90bn, up $1bn from previous forecasts and ahead of the $86.6bn consensus forecast.

Papa John’s International jumped 21% following a report that a Qatari-backed investment fund has submitted a bid for the pizza chain. According to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, Papa John’s is reviewing the bid from Doha-based Irth Capital Management, which includes backing from Brookfield Asset Management, valuing the company at $1.5bn.

Dow Jones - Risers

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $191.79 2.95%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.98 2.78%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $34.37 1.42%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $285.25 1.03%
American Express Co. (AXP) $305.99 0.94%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $260.81 0.83%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $377.64 0.38%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $0.00 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $0.00 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $350.84 -1.77%
Visa Inc. (V) $308.96 -1.74%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $153.32 -1.72%
Boeing Co. (BA) $214.10 -1.68%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $707.59 -1.27%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $823.76 -1.21%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $299.40 -1.01%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $325.21 -0.83%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $116.21 -0.75%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $55.70 -0.68%

S&P 500 - Risers

Mosaic Company (MOS) $29.15 10.08%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $163.12 9.18%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $120.13 9.16%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $231.05 6.46%
HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $56.39 6.16%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $73.33 6.09%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $106.47 5.55%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $226.74 5.35%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $55.58 4.63%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $53.33 4.43%

S&P 500 - Fallers

ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $16.98 -6.08%
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF) $68.72 -5.67%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $9.83 -5.66%
McCormick & Co. (MKC) $59.93 -5.46%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $13.79 -5.42%
Brown Forman Corp. Class B (BF.B) $24.22 -4.65%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $148.63 -4.20%
Capri Holdings Limited (CPRI) $17.86 -3.98%
Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) $23.23 -3.93%
Copart Inc. (CPRT) $35.55 -3.85%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $22.36 3.42%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $101.44 2.97%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $418.69 2.90%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.98 2.78%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $224.36 2.44%
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $3.43 2.39%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $55.35 2.31%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $351.07 2.14%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $28.11 2.03%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $652.65 2.02%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $11.84 -3.43%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $55.36 -3.35%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $23.14 -3.34%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $137.84 -3.34%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $21.24 -3.32%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $268.81 -3.31%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $440.45 -3.11%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $94.89 -2.81%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $113.25 -2.74%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $12.21 -2.63%