5 Worst Stocks in the Dow on Wednesday: Intel Slips - TheStreet

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday closed at a record amid a stalled push to increase stimulus payments for most Americans to $2,000 and the U.K.'s approval of a second coronavirus vaccine.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 74 points, or 0.24% to close at 30,409 while the S&P 500 was up 0.13% and the Nasdaq rose 0.15%.

Here are the biggest decliners in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday by performance in percentage change at the close of regular trade.

1. Intel INTC | Down 1.30%

On Wednesday, shares of Intel (INTC) - Get Report declined after Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore said the next year will be challenging for the chipmaker, Barron's reported. Intel’s well-documented manufacturing issues remain the company’s most pressing concern, Moore wrote. Moore said Intel needs to either fully commit to giving up most of its advanced manufacturing, or figure out how to make the most advanced chips itself. Shares of Intel have fallen more than 18% this year.

2. Verizon VZ | Down 1.14%

On Wednesday, Verizon (VZ) - Get Report closed down 1.14% at $58.14 after it warned its Fios TV customers that certain channels owned by Hearst Television may not be available next year, as the company was demanding a price hike.

Verizon has earned its shareholders about 1% this year, versus a return of more than 8% for the Dow. Barron's reported that the stock needs to show 5G progress next year.

3. Microsoft MSFT | Down 1.10%

On Wednesday, a Wedbush analyst said Microsoft (MSFT) - Get Report likely will beat Wall Street's expectations again, and the software giant's cloud computing capabilities will be a key factor in its success.

Analyst Daniel Ives, who has an outperform rating and a $260 price target on Microsoft, said in an investors' note that he has seen "strong cloud activity" around Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing service, in the field during the December quarter "with another Street beat likely in the cards for MSFT."

4. Merck MRK | Down 1.02%

Shares of Merck (MRK) - Get Report have dropped 11% this year. Despite its strong vaccine program, it remained far behind in the COVID-19 vaccine development race — while Pfizer and BioNTech (BNTX) - Get Report, and Moderna (MRNA) - Get Report got emergency use authorizations by the FDA for their coronavirus vaccine candidates, Barron's reported.

5. Apple AAPL | Down 0.85%

Shares of Apple ended lower Wednesday at $133.72. Apple’s (AAPL) - Get Report App Store and Alphabet’s (GOOGL) - Get Report Google Play together saw spending increase 34.5% on Christmas Day, to $407.6 million from $303 million last year, the Sensor Tower blog reports. Last year’s gain was more modest at 17.7%, according to Sensor Tower, which analyzes apps. Of the combined $407.6 million in spending on Christmas, $278.6 million, or 68.4%, went to Apple, while $129 million, or 31.6%, went to Google Play.

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