U.S. stocks edged lower in a choppy session on Wednesday after three straight days of losses sent the major averages to monthly declines.
The S&P 500 sank 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 190 points, or about 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 0.2%. Stocks’ volatility in recent weeks erased much of the summer’s easing rally, with the S&P 500 officially erasing half of its rebound since mid-June.
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) fell 21% on Wednesday after the home goods retailer announced in an expected strategic update that it will cut staff and close approximately 150 stores as part of efforts to rebuild its struggling business. The company also said it has secured more than $500 million in new financing.
The announcement came shortly after Bed Bath & Beyond’s report in regulatory documentation that it may offer, issue and sell shares of its common stock from time to time and may use any proceeds from potential sales of shares to repay short-term debt, among other purposes.
Elsewhere in the markets, social media giant Snap (I click) has been in the spotlight after confirming reports the company will be making cut 20% of its workforce of more than 6,400 employees and ending or reducing investment in certain projects as part of a broader restructuring effort. Shares were up 9% Wednesday afternoon.
“The scale of these changes varies from team to team, depending on the level of prioritization and investment required to execute against our strategic priorities,” CEO Evan Spiegel said in statement. “The extent of this reduction should significantly reduce the risk of ever having to do this again, while balancing our desire to invest in our long-term future and re-accelerate our revenue growth.”
Chewy (CHWY) shares tumbled more than 9% after the pet retailer reported second-quarter sales that missed Wall Street estimates and cut its full-year guidance, citing the impact of inflationary pressures on pet purchases.
Shares in Hong Kong-listed electric vehicle maker BYD (BE) fell roughly 5% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway cut its stake in the Chinese company. The move came a month after reports that Berkshire would exit its entire stake in the electric car maker sent shares tumbling.
According to a filing on Tuesday, the investor cut its position in Hong Kong-listed BYD shares to 19.92% from 20.04% on Aug. 24 – about 1.33 million shares on average HK$277.10 (US$35.30) per piece, valued at around US$47 million.
In energy markets, West Texas Intermediate crude fell nearly 3% to $88.92 a barrel, while Brent crude futures fell about 3.3% to $96.06 a barrel.
Falling oil prices come “as traders appreciate the darkening clouds over the global economy and expectations of weaker demand,” said Suzanne Streeter, senior investment and market analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, in a note on Wednesday morning.
As for economic data, ADP reported on Wednesday, using a new methodology, that private payrolls rose by 132,000 in August, a big miss from the 300,000 economists polled by Bloomberg had forecast. ADP resumed its private payrolls report after a temporary hiatus in June and July to overhaul the way data is compiled for the release.
ADP’s monthly private jobs report comes two days before the Labor Department releases its official employment data. The government jobs report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday morning, is expected to show that nonfarm payrolls rose by 300,000 in August, according to Bloomberg data.
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Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc
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