U.S. stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday halting the August rally. The second-quarter 2026 earnings results remained strong. Progress in the U.S.-Iran peace deal also bolstered investors’ sentiment. However, a couple of weak economic data points paused the rally. The Dow ended in positive territory while both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished in negative territory.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.5% or 263.24 points to close at 54,349.12, marking a new all-time closing high. Notably, 21 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory and nine ended in negative territory. During intraday trade, the blue-chip index posted a new all-time high of 54,744.33. This also reflected the index’s fifth straight positive close.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 26,363.44, slipping 0.8% or 221.55 points on weak performance by AI giants. The tech-laden index terminated a four-day winning streak. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to finish at 7,723.55. The broad-market index terminated a four-day winning run.
Seven out of 11 sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory while four finished in negative territory. The Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) and the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) advanced 5%, 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively.
The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 4.2% to 15.81. A total of 17.85 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, higher than the last 20-session average of 17.34 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.15-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.34-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.
Solid Earnings Results
Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY – Free Report) came up with quarterly adjusted earnings of $8.38 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.01 per share. Quarterly revenues of $22.97 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.4%.
Shopify Inc. (SHOP – Free Report) reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.42 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.39 per share. Quarterly revenues of $3.58 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.4%.
Owens Corning (OC – Free Report) posted quarterly adjusted earnings of $3.93 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.06 per share. Quarterly revenues of $2.76 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.2%.
Consequently, stocks prices of Eli Lilly, Shopify and Owens Corning rallied 4.9%, 17% and 4.8%, respectively. Shopify currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Economic Data
The Institute of Supply Management reported that services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for July came in at 54.1, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 55.1. The metric for June was 54. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion of services activities. July marked the 25th consecutive month in expansion territory.
For the week ended July 31, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) increased by 2.5 million barrels from the previous week.
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP – Free Report) reported that private payrolls in July came in at 44,000 compared with downwardly revised 95,000 in June. The consensus estimate was 75,000. The services sector added 47,000 jobs while the goods-producing sector lost 3,000 jobs.
Those who stayed in the same job witnessed a 4.4% pay rise annually while those who opted for new jobs saw a 7% annual rise in pay scale. Small-scale enterprises, employing less than 50 people, added 23,000 new jobs in July.
