4:12pm: Stocks slump
The three major US indexes finished Monday’s trading day in the red as earnings season has got off to an uninspiring start amid geopolitical concerns in the wake of Iran’s attack on Israel.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the losses, down 1.8% at 15,885 points.
The S&P 500 was down 1.2% at 5,061 points while the Dow Jones shed 0.7% at 37,735 points.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) closed down 5.6% at $161 on investor concerns about what’s to come for the company after reports it is laying off 10% of its global workforce.
Meanwhile, former US president Donald Trump’s media company Trump Media and Technology Group plunged 18.4% to $26.61 after it filed to issue 21 million shares.
2.50pm: Israel response undermines market positivity
Early positivity in Wall Street evaporated by the afternoon, with Israel saying there will be reprisals for Iran's retaliation to its bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
Israel's military chief of staff said there "will be a response" to Iran's launch of missiles and drones towards Israeli territory, Reuters reported.
All the major US stock indices in the red, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq and a glowing volatility index.
Salesforce and Tesla rode at the vanguard of the rout, down 6.6% and 4.9%, with all of the Nasdaq's top 20 on the slide.
The Nasdaq Composite index was down 247 points or 1.5% at 15,928, while the S&P 500 fell 1% and the Dow Jones 0.6%. The smallcaps of the Russell 2000 dropped 1.45% while the VIX volatility index was up 9%.
Earlier losses for oil were erased, with West Texas Intermediate flat at $85.59 per barrel.
12.05pm: Early gains pared
New York stocks have given up some of their early gains, with most of the technology giants in positive territory, except Tesla, Apple, Meta and Salesforce.
Salesforce shares have fallen over 5% on reports that it is in talks to buy cloud-data firm Informatica.
Discussions between the two New York Stock Exchange-listed companies are at an advanced stage, according to a weekend Wall Street Journal report.
After digesting the weekend's events and this morning's earnings, investors are likely to be looking forward to what's next in an eventful week ahead, with a mix of earnings reports, retail sales data, and housing numbers on the docket.
10.15am: Goldmans up, Tesla down in opening exchanges
The tech-focused Nasdaq 100 index added 0.8% to 18,149 in opening exchanges, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average matching with a 0.8% surge to 38,294. The broader S&P 500 index added 40 points to 5,162.
Retail Sales in the US increased 4% year-on-year in March, following an upwardly revised 2.1% gain in February.
Month on month, retail sales surged 0.7%, more than doubling forecasts of 0.3%.
Goldman Sachs was a top mover after beating profit and revenue guidance. The stock was last seen 3.8% higher.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) was a major loser, dipping 3.6% after announcing a 10% cut to its workforce.
8.26am: Stocks to open higher
US stocks have been tipped to open higher today after Wall Street ended last week on a bum note due to lacklustre performances from big bank stocks.
However, things could turn in the right direction today as Goldman Sachs smashed expectations for first-quarter revenues and earnings, with its trading teams delivering record numbers.
Net revenues of $14.21 billion came in 16% higher than a year ago and up 26% against the fourth quarter of last year, also well above the $12.92 billion consensus forecast.
Elsewhere, there was a successive month of solid retail industry data from the US Census Bureau, showing that sales rose 0.7% in March, following a 0.9% increase last time. Retail sales excluding autos grew 1.1% in the same period.
"Total sales for the January 2024 through March 2024 period were up 2.1% from the same period a year ago," the statement said. "Retail trade sales were up 0.8% from February 2024, and up 3.6% above last year."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up half a percentage point in the pre-market, as is the tech-focused Nasdaq 100.
The wider S&P 500 index is expected to add 28 points to 5,152.
Meanwhile, Asian markets mostly finished in the red, but Europe's are all higher, with London's FTSE 100 the laggard after staging a recovery from intraday lows.
Germany's Dax and Italy's FTSE MIB were leading the way ahead of the US opening bell, up 1.4%.