Stocks Closed Lower as Trump Threatened Government Shutdown

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors grappled with a threat from President Donald Trump to shut down the government if Congress fails to fund a Mexico border wall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 87.80 points, or 0.40%, to 21,812.09. The S&P 500 fell 8.47 points, or 0.35%, to 2,444.04. The Nasdaq Composite declined 19.07 points, or 0.30%, to 6,278.41.

An eighth consecutive weekly decline in U.S. crude supplies lifted oil prices Wednesday, but domestic production continued its climb to levels not seen since July 2015. October West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 58 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $48.41 a barrel. October Brent crude rose 70 cents, or 1.4%, to $52.57 a barrel.

New-home sales tumbled in July, a discouraging development for a market starved for supply. Sales of newly-constructed homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Guess Inc. (GES) produced nearly twice the profit that it expected in the second quarter. The clothing retailer reported net income of $15.2 million, or 18 cents a share, on sales of $573.7 million, up from $545 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM) topped Wall Street earnings estimates for the quarter. The company reported second-quarter net income of $52.9 million, or 61 cents a share, compared to $51.8 million, or 58 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $1.2 billion from $1.16 billion in the year-ago period.