Closing Bell Movers: HB Fuller slips over 2% on soft guidance

U.S. equity markets registered their first instance of consecutive down days of the year as weakness in the higher-beta sectors weighed on the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq.   Consumer Discretionary and Tech were broadly sold on Wednesday while defensive sectors like Health Care and Staples outperformed.  Energy was again the best-performing space with WTI Crude Oil topping $62 for the first time since late October on signs that a deeper intervention by U.S. forces in Iran could be imminent – after Trump’s post that “help is on the way” to Iranian “patriots” yesterday, reports surfaced that U.S. may be pre-emptively disarming Tehran from retaliation by moving some of its military personnel out of Qatar.

As the earnings season ramps up, mega-cap financials were again in focus as weakness in shares of JPMorgan (JPM) yesterday was followed by post-results selling in Citi (C), Bank of America (BAC), and Wells Fargo (WFC).   With Morgan Stanley (MS) and Goldman Sachs (GS) on tap for earnings on Thursday morning, U.S. equity futures are flashing further risk aversion – Dow Industrials, S&P e-minis, and Nasdaq 100 futures are all down by a decimal in the opening hour of the evening session.

Check out this evening’s top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.

HIGHER AFTER EARNINGS –

• BRC Group (RILY) up 42.7%
• RF Industries (RFIL) up 22.5%

ALSO HIGHER –

• Calavo Growers (CVGW) up 12.9% after announcing acquisition by Mission Produce

DOWN AFTER EARNINGS –

• H.B. Fuller (FUL) down 2.3%
• Compass Diversified (CODI) down 1.7%