(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended Wednesday without direction, around equilibrium, treading water for the third session in a row, at the start of a season of mixed results.
The Dow Jones index fell 0.23% to 33,897.01 points, the tech-heavy NASDAQ edged down 0.03% to 12,157.23 points and the S&P 500 stagnated (-0.01% ) at 4154.52 points.
“In recent sessions, the market has tried to go in one direction or another and never succeeded,” summarized Maris Ogg, portfolio manager at Tower Bridge Advisors.
“It’s a reasonable attitude given that we are only at the start of the earnings season and these, frankly so far, have been particularly mixed,” added the analyst.
Netflix, which announced mixed results after the close on Tuesday, was sanctioned, the action lost 3.17% to 323.12 dollars.
The veteran of streaming saw its number of subscribers increase in the first quarter to 232.5 million, but less than expected. In addition, its profit fell by 18% over one year.
Tesla, which fell from 2.02% to 180.59% due to a further drop in the prices of its electric vehicles, was still deteriorating by 1.14% in electronic trading.
After the closing, the group of Elon Musk published a decline in its profit of 24% in the first quarter, even if its turnover rose as much.
IBM, which also announced its results after the close, ended the session down 1.14%, but regained ground in electronic trading (+3%). The computer manufacturer, whose title had already stalled at the start of the week, was therefore on the rise again despite a quarterly result that was worse than expected, due in particular to the stronger dollar.
Hewlett Packard lost more than 5%, Intel more than 2%.
The action of the American investment bank Morgan Stanley, which had started sharply lower on Wednesday, after a profit in decline, but better than expected, finally took 0.62%.
Its net profit slipped 20% in the first quarter as companies use its services less for takeover transactions.
Between the uncertainties about the direction of the economic situation, the rise in interest rates and the volatility of the markets, the bosses are indeed reluctant to initiate redemptions or to raise money on the markets.
Entertainment park giant Disney lost 2.16% as it engages in a political-economic tug of war with conservative Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“Investors are primarily focused on four issues: first-quarter earnings guidance, the Fed’s decision on May 3, when the recession will hit, and whether the S&P 500 will overshoot its current course one way or the other. said Sam Stovall of CFRA.
“We will really understand in which direction the results of companies are going when we get to the regional banks next week,” assured Marris Ogg, referring to the impact of the mini-bank panic in March.
In its Beige Book, an economic report published Wednesday by the Fed, the Federal Reserve noted that the volume of loans granted and borrowings requested had decreased in March and April, since the banking difficulties caused by the bankruptcy of the SVB bank.
“Several regions noted that banks have tightened lending standards amid heightened uncertainty and liquidity concerns,” the document details.
On the bond market, yields on two-year bills rose to 4.26% against 4.19% the day before, while those on 10 years returned to virtual stability at 3.58% against 3.57 %.
The Toronto Stock Exchange closes lower
The Toronto Stock Exchange closed lower on Wednesday, dragged down by losses in the energy and base metals sectors, while major US indices ended the day in mixed order.
According to Purpose Investments chief investment officer Greg Taylor, the market seems to be waiting for “the next big thing” in this relatively quiet day sequence.
“A lot of people haven’t invested as much as they could and are being cautious in the market, and I believe the market is showing pretty good resilience,” he said.
The Toronto floor’s S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 3.85 points on Wednesday to 20,680.83 points.
Earlier today, the UK announced that annual inflation remained above 10.0% for a seventh consecutive month, higher than the 9.8% rate forecast by economists.
According to Mr. Taylor, this may have explained why the markets started the day lower before regaining some of their losses.
“There were fears that central banks would have to stay firm due to the persistence of inflation,” he said.
“Overall, the market is expecting interest rate cuts in the second half of the year and if inflation stays higher, we can assume that these cuts will not happen. »
In the currency market, the Canadian dollar traded at an average rate of 74.38 cents US, down from its average rate of 74.70 cents US on Tuesday.
On the New York Commodities Exchange, crude oil prices fell US$1.66 to US$79.24 a barrel, while natural gas fell 14 cents US to US$2.22 a million. of BTUs.
As oil traded below US$80 a barrel on Wednesday, Taylor said the possibility of a summer recession on the horizon and a slowdown in demand would likely weigh on the price and “the ‘will prevent going too far upwards’.
He predicted that the price would likely settle in a range of US$70 to US$80 per barrel in the near term.
“It will be difficult to see the price go higher due to concerns about slowing demand in the future and conversely it does not look like it can go much lower because the Organization of Exporting Countries Oil (OPEC) started saying they would support that price,” Taylor said.
“So he’s kind of stuck in that range. Oil has seen a nice rise in recent years and the fact that it can stay at these levels is always a good thing for companies (in the energy sector). »
The price of gold fell US$12.40 to US$2007.30 an ounce in New York and that of copper depreciated by 1 cent US to US$4.08 a pound.
The Canadian Press