WASHINGTON: U.S. equities closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with IBM and oil prices pushing down the Dow Jones industrial average. The Dow closed about 120 points lower with IBM accounting for 57 of those points, while Goldman Sachs added 10 points to the downside. IBM posted mixed quarterly results as earnings beat but sales fell for the 20th straight quarter on a year-over-year basis. The stock fell about 5 percent. “The market hasn’t given up any substantial ground but the leadership — these large-cap names — are being challenged,” said Daniel Deming, managing director at KKM Financial. “I think that’s putting into question some of the valuations in this earnings season.” The blue-chips index also notched a two-day drop of more than 200 points and has closed lower in five of the past six sessions.
The S&P 500 fell about 0.2 percent, with energy stocks leading decliners. The energy sector fell 1.4 percent as U.S. oil settled 3.76 percent lower at $50.44 per barrel. “That enthusiasm we had earlier in the day faded with the European close and WTI” closed below $52, weighing on equities, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities. Financials traded higher earlier in the session after Morgan Stanley posted a strong first-quarter as its fixed-income trading revenue doubled year over year. The investment bank’s results easily topped Wall Street expectations, in stark contrast to Dow component Goldman Sachs, which shocked investors with disappointing earnings and revenue.
