Investing.com -- U.S. stocks wobbled were falling on Wednesday as more corporate earnings rolled out. Entertainment giant Walt Disney is expected to report after the closing bell.
By 11:17 ET (15:17 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 102 points or 0.3, while the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and the NASDAQ Composite was down 1.2%.
The benchmark Wall Street indices recorded a down day on Tuesday, pressured by losses in the banking sector after Moody’s rating agency cut its rating of 10 midsized lenders, citing concerns over sluggish deposits, elevated funding costs, and risks to commercial real estate assets.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell just over 150 points or 0.5%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 0.8%, and the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.4%.
Disney offers the day’s earnings highlight
The quarterly corporate earnings season remains in focus, with quarterly results from Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) the day’s highlight, scheduled to be released after the close.
The media conglomerate is expected to face tough questions over recent box office failures, while its TV division, which once financed high-profile mergers, has struggled to entice lucrative advertisers, and its streaming unit is not projected to make a profit until next year.
Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) stock rose over 8% after the online bettor signed a $2 billion deal with ESPN sports network, with Penn rebranding its U.S. sports betting portals, currently known as Barstool Sportsbook, as ESPN Bet.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) dipped almost 2% following a Reuters report that the online e-commerce giant is in negotiations over joining a number of other technology firms as an anchor investor in Softbank-owned chip designer Arm's planned initial public offering.
Fed speakers hint at rate-hiking pause
There’s little in the way of tier one economic data due for release Wednesday, with Thursday’s release of the latest U.S. consumer inflation data the week’s clear highlight.
Ahead of that Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker suggested on Tuesday that interest rates are high enough already, echoing the view of Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic.
Crude rebounds after weak Chinese inflation data
Oil prices rebounded after early losses Wednesday, helped by the wider boost to risk sentiment.
The market retreated earlier Wednesday after the release of weak inflation data raised further concerns about the health of the Chinese economy, the world's largest oil importer.
(Peter Nurse and Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)