Dow extended its losing streak to a third day
Tech rally kept Nasdaq positive
Apple smashed earnings, announced US$100bn buyback
U.S. stocks closed mostly lower on Tuesday with the Dow in the red for the third straight day, but a rally in technology shares kept the Nasdaq positive.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average pared its decline but extended its losing streak to a third day, ending around 65 points, or 0.3% lower.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.91% to end near 7,130 points.
Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) shares plunged 16.56% to $11.79 in extended trade after it missed earnings.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:APPL) shares surged 4.18% to US$176.16 in the extended session after the iPhone maker smashed earnings and announced a staggering US$100bn share buyback
Afternoon update:
US stocks have slipped in early afternoon trading as the latest batch of earnings disappointed investors who are already a bit flustered about rising costs and trade deals.
Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) fell 4.3% to US$35.04 as first-quarter sales missed analyst forecasts, partly due to the recent loss of exclusivity of Viagra in the US.
That weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average index which is down almost 1% to 23,910.
Coach owner Tapestry Inc (NYSE:TPR) also took a beating despite beating expectations with its latest quarterly earnings, slumping 11.7% to US$47.45.
The company said problems plaguing the Stuart Weitzman brand will continue through the year and also reported a steep same-store sales decline at Kate Spade.
That sent the S&P 500 down by 11 points, or 0.4%, to 2,637, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 9 points, or 0.4%, at 7,041.
A drop in oil prices due to uncertainties around the Iran nuclear deal meant energy stocks sank a bit. The S&P energy index was down 0.9%.
Morning trade:
Wall Street kicked off the first trading day of May, with stocks opening lower as investors awaited news of Apple’s quarterly report as well as any pronouncements arising from a two-day Federal Reserve meeting in Washington D.C.
Shortly after the bell, the Dow was down 142 points at 24,021 while the S&P 500 shed 7 points at 2,642. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 10 points at 7,055, meanwhile, while Toronto’s TSX fell by 42 points to 15,565.
Any comments coming out of the Federal Reserve meeting will be closely scrutinized as investors look for signals about interest rate rises.
On the list of morning fallers was Tapestry Inc (NYSE:TPR), which slid 12% after the group reported pressured sales and margins at its shoe division Stuart Weitzman. Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX) also shed 6.4% as its third-quarter results left investors unimpressed.
Pushing up the markets, meanwhile, was the pharmaceutical group AbbVie Inc. Its shares added 6.2% after it announced a “Dutch auction” tender offer that will allow the company to purchase shares from current shareholders. Apple Inc shares (NASDAQ: AAPL) were also up by 1.39% ahead of its quarterly earnings announcement after the market closes.
Elsewhere, the yield on 10-year Treasuries inched up 1 basis point to 2.95% while a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 1.1% to US$67.83.
In other news, the US dollar kept on rallying, with the euro dropping 9.5% to US$1.2019 and the pound shedding 0.9% to US$1.3635, according to Bloomberg data.
Pre-market trade:
US equities look like they will be out of step with world markets on Tuesday, adding to yesterday's losses.
The continued strength of the dollar looks like it will remain a drag on sentiment with the Dow Jones expected to open at around 24,159 after shedding 73 points on Monday to close at 24,238.
The S&P 500, which had a rougher day than the Dow, sliding 13 points to 2,657, was tipped to open about eight points lower at 2,649.
Invests have half an eye on the meeting of the Federal Reserve's policy makers, which starts today, and Friday's non-farm payroll figures.
“As for today, the US has the Markit and ISM manufacturing PMIs [purchasing managers' indexes] to look forward to; the former is set to be confirmed at 56.5, an improvement on March’s 55.6, while the latter is expected to fall from 59.3 to 58.4,” noted Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at Spreadex.
Trump delays decision on steel and aluminium tariffs https://t.co/GD4CQ9lOJ2
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 1, 2018
Foreign markets mostly higher
In contrast to the US lethargy, Asian markets had a bumper session overnight.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stormed 148 points higher to 22,468 while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng soared 528 points at 30,8080.
Traders were not so ebullient in European markets this morning but nevertheless, most markets were higher; the UK's FTSE 100 was up 38 points at 7,548, Germany's DAX was 31 points firmer at 12,612 and in Paris, the CAC 40 was up37 at 5,521.
As alluded to earlier, there has been no let-up in the appreciation of the US dollar, with the dollar index up 0.3 at 85.90 this morning.
On the bond markets, the yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 2.957%.
On the futures markets, gold was down 10 bucks at US$1,309.20 an ounce while West Texas intermediate was 62 cents cheaper at US$67.96 a barrel.
After-hours market activity
Back on the equity markets, last night saw the Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ:CGNX) stock price take a bath after revenue guidance for the year was about 10% lower than analysts had expected.
The shares were down about one-sixth at US$39 in screen-based trading.
Other after-hours announcements last night included Tenet Healthcare Corp (NYSE:THC) and Inogen Inc (NASDAQ:INGN).
The former rose 5.7% to US$25.30 after first quarter revenues and profits topped expectations, while earnings guidance was raised to levels above most analysts' expectations.
Medtech Inogen soared 24% to US$174.49 also topped market expectations with its results, helped by an income tax windfall of US$1.1mln. The company also raised 2018 guidance.
Earnings updates are expected this morning from Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET), Archer Daniels Midland Co (NYSE:ADM), HCA Healthcare Inc (NYSE:HCA), Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK), Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) and Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UAA).