US close: Stocks finish flat amid Middle East developments, Fed uncertainty

(Sharecast News) - US stocks finished flat on Wednesday with investors busy digesting ongoing newsflow from the Middle East as well as ongoing uncertainty regarding the Federal Reserve's next policy decision.

A testimony from Jerome Powell before the Senate Banking Committee was in focus as president Donald Trump continues to criticise the Federal Reserve chairman's approach to monetary policy.

Just days after two Fed officials, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, voiced their support for an interest-rate cut in July, Powell defended the Fed's decision to hold steady at its latest meeting, saying that tariff uncertainty is clouding the outlook.

The Dow finished 0.25% lower, while the S&P 500 was more or less unchanged from the previous session, within 1% of its all-time high. Meanwhile the Nasdaq gained 0.3% on the back of a Nvidia jumping to a new record.

Markets were also keeping an eye on the Middle East conflict, with investors holding out hope that Donald Trump's recently announced ceasefire agreement will hold up. Trump already called for Israel to "calm down" after both it and Iran violated the ceasefire.

"Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I've never seen before, the biggest load that we've seen," he said. "We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f**k they're doing."

In economic news, US new home sales plunged in May by their most in nearly three years as elevated mortgage rates dampened affordability levels. Data from the Commerce Department revealed that sales of new single-family houses totalled just 623,000 last month, down 13.7% after growing by 9.6% in April to 722,000. This was well below the consensus forecast of 690,000.

Meanwhile, US mortgage applications increased by 1.1% in the week ended 20 June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, trimming the prior week's 2.6% drop.

Market movers

FedEx shares were falling sharply after the transport and logistics giant underwhelmed with its outlook as demand was held back by a raft of trade policy changes. Fourth-quarter results came in better than expected, but the company disappointed with first-quarter projections, whilst choosing not to provide full-year guidance. This was the first time in a decade that the company decided against giving a full-year outlook.

Also under pressure was General Mills after the US food giant warned that "volatile" market conditions were expected to weigh heavily on earnings. Looking to the current year, chief executive Jeff Harmening said the group's "number one goal" was to restore volume-driven organic sales growth, after a 2% decline in underlying net sales in the year ended 25 May.

Tesla was another heavy faller after industry stats showed that the manufacturer's sales across the European Union totalled just 8,729 in May, down 40.5% over the previous year, as the brand continues to feel the heat from a mass boycott linked to founder Elon Musk's political activities, in addition to heightened competition from Chinese rivals.

One bright spark was Nvidia, which gained 4.3% to a new closing high of $154.31, topping the previous closing record of $149.43 reached on 6 January.

"It could be a record-breaking day for one of the darlings of the US stock market," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell. "Less than a week ago, the world faced the prospect of a big spike in oil prices pushing up the cost of energy, transport, goods and services. That threat has now gone away, and investors have responded by embracing higher-risk opportunities on financial markets rather than hiding in safe-haven areas as they've done in recent days.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.20 3.79%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $669.86 1.17%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $284.06 1.00%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $119.42 0.65%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $361.86 0.40%

American Express Co. (AXP) $308.76 0.12%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $152.38 0.12%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $490.11 0.00%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $67.89 0.00%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $277.49 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $26.82 -2.58%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $260.68 -2.05%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $285.55 -2.03%

Visa Inc. (V) $345.26 -1.81%

3M Co. (MMM) $147.70 -1.41%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.12 -1.21%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $268.12 -1.12%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $302.19 -1.12%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $60.83 -0.96%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $291.06 -0.93%

S&P 500 - Risers

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $183.07 4.33%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.20 3.79%

Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM) $147.36 3.27%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $62.55 2.86%

Northern Trust Corp. (NTRS) $123.80 2.70%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $171.49 2.53%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $138.57 2.53%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $170.68 2.51%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $487.27 2.47%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $93.23 2.34%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) $52.87 -10.95%

Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $137.94 -9.15%

Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $35.88 -6.72%

Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $58.36 -5.83%

Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) $66.70 -5.17%

General Mills Inc. (GIS) $50.67 -5.13%

ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $20.45 -4.71%

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $298.19 -4.16%

Macerich Co (MAC) $15.82 -3.92%

Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) $254.94 -3.61%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $183.07 4.33%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.20 3.79%

Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $815.24 3.41%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $62.55 2.86%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $171.49 2.53%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $138.57 2.53%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $170.68 2.51%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $487.27 2.47%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $93.23 2.34%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $96.02 2.30%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $137.94 -9.15%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $327.55 -7.08%

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $298.19 -4.16%

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $458.95 -3.35%

eBay Inc. (EBAY) $74.52 -3.20%

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $87.84 -3.06%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $218.81 -2.04%

Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $62.20 -1.78%

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $91.10 -1.73%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $165.77 -1.52%