US close: stocks lower as Yellen flags valuation risks
US stock closed lower on Wednesday, extending declines from the previous session amid Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's comments that stock values are high.
The remark came at a panel discussion with Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, spooking investors who were already anticipating disappointing data.
The comment was not entirely welcomed by analysts either: "I think people should learn not to listen to …[Yellen]... on certain things. One of these things is stock valuations. While I think she's right, her commenting on stock valuations doesn't mean anything. She's not going to react to them with policy," said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group.
At close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 86.02 points lower, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were down 9.29 and 19.68 points respectively.
Private sector payrolls in the US hit their lowest level since January 2014 in April, falling to 169,000, well short of the 200,000 reading analysts had estimated. March’s tally, which had previously been estimated at 189,000, was revised downward to 175,000.
US non-farm labour productivity fell by 1.9% in annualised terms during the first quarter after a 2.1% drop over the previous three months, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS).
In company news, Herbalife ended flat after surging in early trade, as the nutrition-supplement producer raised its outlook for the year late on Tuesday, as first-quarter earnings exceeded expectations, increasing by 4.8%.
Wendy's was trading higher after first-quarter adjusted earnings per share topped consensus estimates.
Synageva BioPharma rocketed on news that Alexion Pharmaceuticals will buy the biotech firm in a $8.4bn cash-and-stock deal, which also sent Alexion shares south.
Groupon dipped after revealing that its first-quarter loss narrowed.
21st Century Fox, Tesla Motors, Wholefoods and MetLife are due to report after the closing bell.
Elsewhere, Asian markets closed lower, while European stocks were generally gained.
Crude oil futures settled up 53 cents, or 0.88%, at $60.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices dipped, while the dollar was pushed lower against other major currencies, particularly the euro.
S&P 500 - Risers
Western Union Co. (WU) $21.80 +4.06%
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) $8.56 +3.57%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $60.93 +2.99%
Rowan Companies plc (RDC) $22.97 +2.73%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $47.96 +2.69%
Assurant Inc. (AIZ) $64.37 +2.34%
Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) $20.80 +2.21%
Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) $74.75 +2.20%
Kroger Co. (KR) $69.69 +2.17%
Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) $87.18 +1.96%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $5.95 -11.80%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $154.77 -8.18%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $14.73 -7.16%
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $44.63 -6.92%
News Corp Class A (NWSA) $14.96 -6.62%
Fossil Group Inc (FOSL) $80.81 -6.53%
Windstream Holdings Inc (WIN) $10.25 -5.53%
Allstate Corp (The) (ALL) $67.24 -3.94%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $34.22 -3.63%
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $8.33 -3.59%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $80.29 +0.28%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $28.93 +0.16%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $96.22 +0.09%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $108.06 +0.00%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $46.14 -3.07%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $169.72 -1.94%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $33.47 -1.92%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $32.16 -1.47%
Boeing Co. (BA) $140.89 -1.41%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $109.49 -1.19%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.56 -1.06%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $124.73 -0.85%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $63.87 -0.83%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $195.76 -0.78%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $47.96 +2.69%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $23.18 +2.07%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $78.76 +1.65%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $35.19 +1.27%
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $45.39 +1.09%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $98.34 +0.92%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $77.01 +0.88%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $469.54 +0.87%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $108.41 +0.81%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $188.55 +0.81%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $154.77 -8.18%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $46.14 -3.07%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $56.17 -2.65%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $189.71 -2.58%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $72.62 -2.54%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $71.08 -2.48%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $113.63 -2.41%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $94.62 -2.24%
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $107.57 -2.21%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $31.92 -2.06%