US stock markets in the red at the start: Apple and Tesla pull Wall Street down

US stock markets down at the start
Apple and Tesla are dragging Wall Street down

The American stock exchanges made a mixed start to the new year. On the first day of trading in 2023, the major indices are all weaker. Above all, well-known names such as Apple, Tesla and oil stocks such as Exxon or Chevron are pulling prices down. Chinese values, on the other hand, are in demand.

Price losses at Tesla, Apple and energy stocks push the US stock exchanges back into the red on the first trading day of 2023. The Dow Jones index of standard values ​​​​closed 0.03 percent lower at 33,136 points in New York on Tuesday. The broader S&P 500 lost 0.4 percent to 3824 points. The Nasdaq index fell by 0.7 percent to 10,386 points.

S&P 500 3,819.12

The US stock exchanges were still closed on Monday due to the holiday, and hopes for a better stock market year drove them up briefly when they opened on Tuesday. “The market today isn’t so much about data or news as it is about the emotion at the start of a new year and investors trying to decide if there’s a recovery ahead,” said Rick Meckler, partner at wealth manager Cherry Lane.

Investors also awaited the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting, which will be released on Wednesday.

Energy sector in nosedive

Ongoing concerns about the corona situation in China depressed oil prices. The North Sea oil variety Brent and the US variety WTI each gave around three percent to 83.29 and 77.96 dollars per barrel (159 liters). “The outlook remains extremely uncertain, which should keep oil prices very volatile for longer,” said Craig Erlam, market analyst at trading house Oanda. The collapse in crude oil weighed on the entire energy sector, which tumbled 2.9. The industry giants Marathon Oil, Exxon Mobil and Chevron lost between 2.9 and 5.1 percent.

The uncertainty helped the anti-crisis currency, the dollar, gain 0.9 percent to 104.6100 points. In return, the euro lost 1.1 percent to $ 1.0551.

Apple and Tesla crash

The market value of the US tech giant Apple fell below the two trillion dollar mark for the first time since 2021. The stock fell 3.6 percent to $125.15 after a downgrade by bank Exane BNP Paribas. According to the analysts, the latest corona wave in China has affected production in one of the largest production facilities for Apple’s iPhone.

After the worst year on the stock exchange since the initial listing in 2010, the downward slide continued for Tesla. The shares of the electric car maker lost 12.2 percent to $ 108.05 after quarterly sales below market expectations. “Tesla’s previous price gains were based on above-average growth,” says financial market expert Russ Mold from brokerage house AJ Bell. Things are looking a little different now.

At the same time, hopes for a long-term economic recovery in China drove shares in US-listed Chinese companies. Alibaba, JD.com, Pinduoduo and Bilibili stocks rose between 1.7 and 11.1 percent. The Chinese purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing in December fell to 49.0 on Tuesday from 49.4 points in the previous month. However, the decline was 0.2 percentage points smaller than feared by analysts. “Economic activity in China is currently stabilizing,” said Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at online broker CMC Markets.

source site-32