Stocks fell amid downbeat assessment of US economy

Wall Street on Wednesday fell after lower-than-expected orders for durable goods, a downbeat assessment of the US economy from the Fed's Beige Book and cautious outlooks from Boeing and ArcelorMittal weighed on market sentiment.

At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average shed 40 points, or 0.4%, to 10,498. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index dropped eight points, or 0.7%, to 1,106, while the Nasdaq fell 23 points, or 1%, to 2,264.

The S&P has hovered near its 200-day moving average for a third session in a row.

Both Boeing and ArcelorMittal beat expectations in the second quarter but were cautious about the rest of the year. Boeing’s stocks dropped 1.9% to $67.32, while ArcelorMittal fell 2.8% to $31.11.

Adding to the disappointment, the U.S. Federal Reserve's Beige Book indicated activity was not as robust in a few districts and had lost steam over the past several weeks. It said manufacturing slowed or levelled off in about half its 12 regions.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said that orders for durable goods declined 1% in June. Economists expected a 1% gain.

In Europe on Wednesday, stocks stalled after opening higher, with the FTSE 100 ending lower by 46 points, or 0.9%, to 5,320. The Eurofirst 300 index was down by 0.3%, while Germany’s Dax fell 0.5%.

In Asia, Tokyo fuelled a region-wide market as increasing optimism over corporate results bolstered investor confidence.

The Nikkei 225 Average surged 2.7% to a two-week high of 9,753, with the weaker tone of the yen adding to the upbeat mood. Canon provided much of the impetus after it unveiled its strongest quarterly profits in nearly two years after the market closed on Tuesday.

The Shanghai Composite index rose 2.3% to 2,633 amid hopes of strong earnings from industrial companies and after the Chinese central bank said it was ‘prudently optimistic’ about the economic outlook.

The Hang Seng index climbed 0.6% to 21,091, while the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.7% to 4,530.