Restraint on Wall Street
Tech stocks continue to lag behind
January 4, 2024, 10:47 p.m
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After the unsuccessful start to the year on the US stock market, technology stocks are once again lagging behind standard securities. Overall, investors have been rather skeptical since the beginning of the year and are questioning the reasons for the price rally in the weeks before.
The momentum of the last few weeks on the US stock exchanges is a thing of the past. The Dow Jones Index closed virtually unchanged at 37,440 points. The broader one S&P 500 was 0.3 percent in the red at 4689 points. The technology stock market index Nasdaq lost 0.6 percent to 14,510 points. Robust labor market data dampened investor expectations of rapid interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. According to data from private provider ADP, the US hired more workers than expected in December, indicating continued strength in the labor market. Now investors were nervously waiting for the official labor market report on Friday.
Bets that the US Federal Reserve could soon begin cutting interest rates drove the stock markets towards the end of 2023. However, the latest minutes from the central bank’s December meeting offered little guidance as to when easing might begin. A first interest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point is expected on the futures markets for March.
Oil prices are turning negative
The Dollar index, which had made up ground in the past few days, remained virtually unchanged at 102.41 points. Against this he put Euro by 0.2 percent to 1.0946 dollars. At the Oil market prices fluctuated greatly. Initial gains on supply fears faded after a surprise increase in U.S. gasoline inventories. The North Sea variety Brent and the US light oil WTI each fell by less than one percent to $77.66 and $72.39 per barrel. The situation in the Red Sea continued to cause unrest, where the Houthi militia had been attacking cargo ships for weeks.
In terms of individual stocks, shares from Allstate 2.4 percent after Morgan Stanley raised its rating on the insurer to overweight. On the other hand, the papers went downhill Mobileye, which fell by 24.5 percent. The specialist for driving assistance systems expects weaker demand for its products this year.
A dividend cut was also poorly received Walgreens Boots Alliance. Shares fell 5.1 percent even as the pharmacy chain reported a higher-than-expected profit in the first quarter thanks to cost-cutting measures and higher drug prices.