(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks were early on Wednesday following the Dow Jones and S&P 500's record close in the previous session.

As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.12% at 42,158.63, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.13% to 5,740.60 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.36% firmer at 18,139.04.

The Dow opened 49.59 points lower on Wednesday, taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session despite weak consumer sentiment data and disappointing manufacturing numbers from the Richmond Fed.

In focus early on Wednesday, mortgage applications surged 11% in the week ended 20 September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, extending the previous week's 14.2% increase and lifting application volumes to their highest level in more than two years. Applications to refinance a home shot up 20% week-on-week, while applications to purchase a home were up just 1%.

Elsewhere on the macro front, US new home sales slipped to 716,000 in August, according to the Census Bureau, a 4.7% drop from July's revised reading of 751,000. The median sales price of homes sold in August was $420,600, while the average price came to $492,700.

In the corporate space, Hewlett Packard shares traded higher after analysts at Barclays upgraded the stock, while shares in automotive giant General Motors slid on the back of a downgrade by Morgan Stanley.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.30 2.15%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $115.75 0.68%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $272.05 0.60%

American Express Co. (AXP) $267.67 0.55%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $81.07 0.49%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.60 0.38%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $577.36 0.38%

Boeing Co. (BA) $156.20 0.25%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $173.65 0.24%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $52.63 0.21%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $322.02 -2.69%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $8.44 -1.06%

Visa Inc. (V) $270.35 -0.89%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $146.36 -0.74%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $383.46 -0.64%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $398.77 -0.47%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $226.70 -0.29%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $162.41 -0.23%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $211.13 -0.22%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $299.80 -0.16%

S&P 500 - Risers

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $19.94 5.64%

Flowserve Corp. (FLS) $53.34 2.30%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.30 2.15%

Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $48.83 2.14%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $123.44 2.13%

CVS Health Corp (CVS) $59.01 1.60%

Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $30.18 1.45%

HP Inc (HPQ) $36.33 1.35%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $801.69 1.34%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $570.80 1.33%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Global Payments Inc. (GPN) $97.59 -5.99%

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $6.77 -5.84%

Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $26.05 -5.20%

Ford Motor Co. (F) $10.35 -4.83%

Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) $58.01 -4.15%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $87.55 -3.21%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $1,013.71 -3.09%

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $16.25 -2.99%

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $31.92 -2.86%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $322.02 -2.69%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.30 2.15%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $123.44 2.13%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $801.69 1.34%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $570.80 1.33%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $94.99 1.05%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.12 0.72%

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $907.78 0.69%

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $202.80 0.68%

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,136.19 0.62%

Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $206.07 0.59%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $51.01 -3.86%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $1,013.71 -3.09%

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $32.90 -2.96%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $322.02 -2.69%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $93.06 -1.85%

PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $97.43 -1.76%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $145.41 -1.70%

Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $68.36 -1.61%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $243.81 -1.27%

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $397.45 -1.25%