Major US stock indexes finished trading in the red, the day after the strongest rally in seven months. The pressure on the market was caused by the collapse of IBM stocks against the background of the quarterly report, the fall in the base materials sector, as well as disappointing data on the US housing market.

In September, the rate of housing construction in the United States fell more than expected, since construction activities in the South declined for at least three years, probably held back by Hurricane Florence. Bookmarking new homes fell 5.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,201 million units last month, the Ministry of Commerce reported. The data for August were revised to 1.268 million instead of the previously announced 1.282 million units.

Meanwhile, in the minutes of the September Fed meeting, central bankers signaled that the good state of the economy justified a further increase in interest rates and said they would watch for signs that their actions help to maintain stable economic growth.

Oil prices have fallen significantly, which was caused by the strengthening of the dollar and the publication of data on stocks of petroleum products from the US Department of Energy. The US Department of Energy reported that in the week to October 12, commercial oil reserves increased by 6.5 million barrels. The increase in stocks is recorded for the fourth week in a row. Analysts had expected stocks to rise by 1.278 million barrels.

Most of the components of DOW finished trading in positive territory (19 out of 30). The growth leader was The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS, + 2.79%). Outsiders were the shares of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM, -7.99%).

Most sectors of the S & P recorded a decline. The largest decline was shown by the base materials sector (-1.0%). The financial sector grew the most (+ 0.2%),

At the time of closing:

Dow 25,706.68 -91.74 -0.36%

S&P 500 2,809.21 -0.71 -0.03%

Nasdaq 100 7,642.70 -2.79 -0.04%

U.S. stock-index futures indicated a lower open on Wednesday after yesterday's strong rally. Investors remained cautious ahead of the minutes of Federal Reserve's latest meeting, and continued to assess earnings reports.

Global Stocks:

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Home Depot (HD) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse

Netflix (NFLX) reported Q3 FY 2018 earnings of $0.89 per share (versus $0.29 in Q3 FY 2017), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $0.68.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $3.999 bln (+34.0% y/y), generally in-line with analysts' consensus estimate of $3.993 bln.

It also reported 6.96 million net subscriber additions for the third quarter versus 5 million guidance.

Netflix issued guidance for Q4, projecting EPS of $0.23 (versus analysts' consensus estimate of $0.49) and revenues of $4.20 bln (versus analysts' consensus estimate of $4.23 bln).

NFLX rose to $385.20 (+11.20%) in pre-market trading.

IBM (IBM) reported Q3 FY 2018 earnings of $3.42 per share (versus $3.30 in Q3 FY 2017), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $3.40.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $18.756 bln (-2.1% y/y), missing analysts' consensus estimate of $19.041 bln.

The company also reaffirmed its FY 2018 EPS guidance of 'at least $13.80' versus analysts' consensus estimate of $13.81.

IBM fell to $138.69 (-4.43%) in pre-market trading.