US open: Dow Jones slips amid macro jitters, Alphabet trades higher on Chrome ruling

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Wednesday after a bout of profit-taking in the previous session.

As of 1445 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.12% at 45,242.32, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.38% to 6,439.95 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.77% at 21,442.77.

The Dow opened 53.49 points lower on Wednesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session as traders seemingly spent the Labor Day break reassessing the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut later this month.

Google parent company Alphabet traded higher in early action on the back of news that it will not have to sell its Chrome web browser, but will be forced to share information with competitors, according to a ruling from a US federal judge. The Department of Justice had initially demanded that Google sell Chrome - however, Tuesday's ruling means Alphabet will be able to keep the browser, but will be blocked from having exclusive contracts and will have to share search data with rivals.

The White House's ongoing tariff war was also getting a significant amount of attention at the open after the appeals court ruled that Trump's so-called "reciprocal" tariffs were illegal, throwing fresh uncertainty into the mix. However, Scott Bessant has already stated that the administration was drawing up plans to implement the tariffs in a new setting should the court ultimately force their removal.

On the macro front, US mortgage applications fell by 1.2% in the week ended 29 August, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the prior week's 0.5% drop and marking a third consecutive weekly decline in mortgage demand. The drop took place despite a five-basis-point reduction in benchmark mortgage rates, which eased to their lowest level in almost five months. Applications for a mortgage to buy a new home fell by 1.2%, in line with weakening consumer sentiment, while applications to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to short-term changes in interest rates, ticked up 0.9%.

Still to come, July factory orders and JOLTS jobs figures will be released at 1500 BST, with the latter set to be closely watched for signs of cooling in the US labour market, while the Federal Reserve's Beige Book will follow at 1900 BST, with particular attention likely to be paid to any hints as to the price pressures being felt by firms in response to Donald Trump's tariffs.

In the corporate space, Dollar Tree posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter results on Wednesday, as the discount retailer raised its full-year outlook following the completion of its Family Dollar divestiture, while retailer Macy's reported Q2 earnings that came in ahead of expectations, as improved trading across its core nameplates prompted the department store operator to hike its FY guidance.

Salesforce and Hewlett-Packard will report earnings after the close.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $85.48 1.62%

Boeing Co. (BA) $237.38 1.15%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $97.85 0.90%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $161.83 0.77%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $315.76 0.71%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $273.35 0.68%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $157.99 0.60%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $178.06 0.50%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $69.06 0.10%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.21 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $74.29 -3.98%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $730.85 -1.93%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $252.86 -1.32%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.80 -0.97%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $24.41 -0.89%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $241.50 -0.82%

3M Co. (MMM) $154.27 -0.81%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $416.05 -0.71%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $299.70 -0.57%

Visa Inc. (V) $350.07 -0.49%

S&P 500 - Risers

Kohls Corp. (KSS) $16.13 7.10%

Gap Inc. (GAP) $22.62 2.77%

HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $52.08 2.36%

FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $37.55 2.15%

Corning Inc. (GLW) $68.47 2.15%

Humana Inc. (HUM) $310.06 2.11%

Centene Corp. (CNC) $29.62 2.00%

Macy's Inc. (M) $13.49 1.97%

Newmont Corporation (NEM) $75.86 1.96%

PVH Corp. (PVH) $85.96 1.94%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Transdigm Group Inc. (TDG) $1,304.88 -6.72%

Constellation Brands Inc. Class A (STZ) $151.26 -6.60%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $79.54 -6.34%

Equifax Inc. (EFX) $234.03 -4.98%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $74.29 -3.98%

Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) $24.89 -3.79%

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) $183.74 -3.71%

Target Corp. (TGT) $92.44 -3.69%

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $4.79 -3.62%

Essex Prty Trust Inc. (ESS) $260.60 -3.56%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $329.36 0.00%

CSX Corp. (CSX) $32.19 0.00%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.21 0.00%

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $299.77 0.00%

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $5,505.55 0.00%

Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $725.85 0.00%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $298.24 0.00%

Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $62.67 0.00%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $846.35 0.00%

Fastenal Co. (FAST) $49.19 0.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Fiserv Inc. (FI) $136.78 -1.01%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $264.42 0.00%

Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $135.96 0.00%

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $135.71 0.00%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $286.92 0.00%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $157.57 0.00%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $67.80 0.00%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $81.91 0.00%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $577.90 0.00%

Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $264.48 0.00%