- Wall Street flat
- Tesla, Hasbro and Visa rise
- Meta to report after close
4:10pm: Optimism grows after Tesla's surge
Wall Street was at a standstill at Wednesday’s close as investors eagerly awaited quarterly updates while Tesla's surge dominated headlines post-earnings.
The Nasdaq Composite closed slightly positive with a gain of 0.1% to end at 15,713 points. The S&P 500 finished marginally above flatline at 5,072 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% lower at 38,461.
Bond yields ticked higher, a recent stock market headwind, with the 10-year Treasury yield hovering near its 2024 peak.
Meanwhile, Tesla's 12% jump overshadowed earnings and revenue misses, reflecting investor optimism amidst strategic shifts.
Meta, Chipotle, and Ford are due to report earnings after the bell, with analysts forecasting robust performances and strategic shifts in focus.
2.03pm: Wall Street holding flat
Wall Street is holding flat as jitters regarding interest rate decisions begin to offset an impressive horde of company results.
The US's benchmark 10-year treasury note yield lifted 6 basis points to 4.658%, while its two-year alternative rose three basis points to 4.937%.
This has left markets moving cautiously as to whether both inflation data on Friday and GDP numbers on Thursday will result in interest rate cut plans being scaled back.
Should this occur, investors could see a pullback across the markets, offsetting and muting some of the gains companies are achieving from strong quarterly results.
Both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 are now holding flat at 38,537 and 5,077, respectively, while this Nasaq ticked higher by 46 points to 15,743.
Companies with results out today included Tesla, up 12%, Boeing, down 1.5%, Hasbro, up 11%, and Biogen, up 3.5%.
12.01pm: US stocks slip lower on interest rate fears
Wall Street is heading into lunch with all three main indexes tipping lower as fears of high interest rates for longer offset the latest wave of strong company earnings.
The Dow Jones slipped more than 173 points to 38,329, while the S&P 500 dropped 16 points to 5,053.
Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq ticked 19 points lower to 15,680 despite EV giant and constituent Tesla having experienced a near 11% surge after a positive set of results on Tuesday evening.
In equities, both Visa and Texas Instruments experienced a share price boost after posting better-than-expected earnings.
Stocks rising on the back of good results has been the order of the week. The S&P 500 has seen more than a quarter of its companies report so far, 79% of which have beaten guidance set by Wall Street.
“A strong earnings season looks likely to help restore market confidence," Solita Marcelli, the UBS investment executive said.
Marcelli predicts on average S&P 500 companies will report a 7% to 9% uptick in earnings per share during the first quarter.
9.59am: Nasdaq, S&P up as Dow Jones slips
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 enjoyed gains on a busy Wednesday of earnings, opening 126 and 13 points higher respectively.
This came as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) soared after seemingly reassuring investors in the face of muted demand in Tuesday evening's earnings, while Boeing Co (NYSE:BA, ETR:BCO) also climbed despite unveiling a first-quarter loss.
According to eToro analysts, Boeing’s US$1.13 loss per share was not as bad as feared, after the manufacturer has faced intense pressure after January’s door panel blowout.
“It reflects the company taking the only really sensible route,” eToro’s Mark Crouch said, “namely, to slow down production in order to prioritise quality over quantity”.
The Dow Jones faced a negative start in the meantime, falling 34 points to 38,469, as the likes of Verizon, McDonald's, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Proctor & Gamble fell.
Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB) was among other big names due to report on Wednesday, alongside Ford Motor Co.
7.09am: Wall Street on for mixed start
Futures trading had the Nasdaq and S&P 500 up 95 and 5 points respectively ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell, but the Dow Jones down 11 points as a busy week of earnings goes on.
Eyes were on Boeing Co (NYSE:BA, ETR:BCO) as the embattled aircraft manufacturing giant readied to report on its first quarter trading on Wednesday, following January’s door panel blowout and intense pressure subsequently.
Shares in Boeing were up 1.3% ahead of the market’s open, on news of a US$425 million deal with supplier Spirit AeroSystems to address ongoing issues.
Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB) was also among the big names set to report on Wednesday, alongside Ford Motor Co, with shares in the former down 0.4% and up 0.5% in the latter ahead of these.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) emerged as one of Wednesday’s big risers in the meantime, up 12.1% in pre-market trading after Tuesday’s earnings.
“Tesla had flagged the expected lower growth rate in 2024, thus, the focus for this earnings report was margins and plans for the future,” XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks said.
“Musk delivered both of these,” she added, pointing to a better-than-expected margin of 17.4% and plans to accelerate the rollout of affordable electric vehicles.