Nasdaq gives way
Tension is building on Wall Street
08/01/2023 11:06 p.m
The US stock markets started the new month sluggishly. Only the Dow Jones closes with a slight plus. One reason for the uncertainty among investors is the diverging quarterly reports.
Surprisingly weak economic data and inconsistent corporate balance sheets are making Wall Street investors nervous. The Dow Jones Index the standard values closed 0.2 percent higher at 35,630 points. The tech-heavy one Nasdaq however, fell 0.4 percent to 14,283 points. The broad one S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent to 4576 points.
Disappointing economic data created a bad mood. The purchasing managers’ index for US industry rose by 0.4 to 46.4 points. However, experts interviewed by Refinitiv assumed 46.8 points. Job openings in the US have also fallen to their lowest level in over two years. Chinese industry also presented a gloomy picture.
“While it’s nothing that doesn’t line up with what we’ve been seeing for a number of months,” said Tom O’Hara, portfolio manager at investment firm Janus Henderson. “What has investors nervous, however, is the guesswork of when the decline in industrial activity will bottom out.”
The inconsistent balance sheets and forecasts also kept investors on their toes. “What we’ve seen so far is that most companies have beaten earnings expectations, but if you scratch the surface, you find the underlying expectation that those earnings will come down,” said Mike Olsen, portfolio manager at money manager Motley Fool.
Uber stock has suffered losses
A disappointing quarterly report weighed on the stock of Above. The papers of the US driving service crumbled off by almost six percent. The company posted a profit for the first time in the second quarter. However, sales fell short of analysts’ expectations at $9.23 billion. The experts have assumed an average of 9.33 billion dollars. A forecast cut also continued JetBlue Airways to. The airline’s stock fell more than 8 percent.
Asked for numbers were against it Caterpillar, which increased by more than eight percent. Higher infrastructure spending in the US boosted demand for the US construction equipment maker’s products in the second quarter. Meanwhile, weak economic data weighed on US-listed shares of Chinese companies. The stocks of companies such as Bilibili, JD.Com, Baidu, Nio and Tencent lost between 1.8 and 6.6 percent.
Break for oil price
Oil prices took a breather after recent strong gains. The North Sea crude oil variety Brent and the light US variety STI were slightly in the red at 85.17 and 81.62 dollars per barrel (159 liters). The experts spoke of a short-term correction. It has been predicted for months that global oil demand will pick up in the second half of the year, said analyst Tamas Varga of oil brokerage PVM.
Recession concerns made investors more cautious at the beginning of the year. “Then July came and the mood changed abruptly.” The reason is the expectation that the expected interest rate pause by the major central banks will help avoid a recession in the major economies.
Meanwhile, the prospect of a “soft landing” for the US economy kept the lid on gold price. The yellow metal fell a good 1 percent to $1,943 a troy ounce. “Because only in the event of a recession will the US Federal Reserve probably lower its interest rates more significantly in the foreseeable future, which would benefit gold,” said Commerzbank commodities expert Thu Lan Nguyen. When interest rates are high, market participants are more likely to invest in safe, but interest-bearing assets, rather than buying gold, which earns no interest.