Investors in the US were nervous about the quarterly figures from a large tech company. Google and Microsoft disappointed investors and Twitter is also going downhill after the Musk deal.
Led by very weak technology stocks, the US stock markets slipped significantly into the red on Tuesday.
The renewed sell-off was justified, among other things, by the nervousness of investors before the quarterly figures of some of the world’s largest technology groups were due to be published after the stock market closed. Persistent fears of inflation, the rigid Covid-19 policy in China and the ongoing war in Ukraine also had a negative impact.
The leading index Dow Jones Industrial accelerated its descent again shortly before the close of trading and closed with a minus of 2.38 percent at 33,240.18 points. That was the lowest level since mid-March. The market-wide S&P 500 lost 2.81 percent to 4175.20 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 plummeted to its lowest level since May 2021, ultimately falling 3.87 percent to 13,009.71 points.
Indexes react little
The indices reacted little to the release of new US economic data. US durable goods orders rose less-than-expected in March. US consumer sentiment deteriorated more than feared in April. New home sales fell significantly more than forecast and house prices rose at a record pace.
After the close of trading, Microsoft and Google’s parent company Alphabet presented their quarterly figures, which were apparently poorly received on the stock exchange. Microsoft shares fell 2.6 percent in after-hours trading and Alphabet shares fell 3.0 percent. In the coming days, other tech giants will follow with Apple, Amazon and the Facebook group Meta.
UPS surprisingly strong
The US parcel service UPS started the year with surprisingly strong growth and intends to double its share buybacks. However, management announced in the conference call that package volumes in the US will decline in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. UPS shares, which were still significantly stronger pre-market, fell 3.5 percent.
At General Electric, the results of the first quarter were rated as positive in the first comments, but the outlook as disappointing. The course fell by 10.3 percent. The supply chain problems and rising raw material prices are responsible for the fact that the group is oriented towards the lower end of its previous annual targets, it said.
After a weak first quarter, the stocks of the conglomerate 3M showed a similar trend, falling by 3.0 percent. At the beginning of the year, the company was slowed down by the strong US dollar and higher costs. Here, too, the outlook was considered a burden. According to numbers, the titles of the brewing company Pepsico fell by 0.3 percent.
Twitter stocks fall after Musk takeover
Twitter shares fell 3.9 percent to $49.68, well below Elon Musk’s $54.20 per share bid. The board of directors of the short message service has now approved the deal after initial resistance. Now enough shareholders still have to sell their shares to the Tesla founders. The share of the electric car maker lost more than twelve percent as the taillight in the Nasdaq 100.
In US trading, the euro extended its losses from European business somewhat and reached its lowest level in over two years at 1.0637 US dollars. The European Central Bank had set the reference rate at 1.0674 (Monday: 1.0746) dollars. The dollar had thus cost 0.9368 (0.9306) euros.
US government bonds rose. The futures contract for ten-year Treasuries (T-Note Future) recently rose by 0.63 percent to 120.36 points. In contrast, the yield on ten-year government bonds fell to 2.74 percent.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
