4:05pm: US stocks fall ahead of Big Tech earnings
US stocks continued to tumble on Tuesday afternoon as investors awaited the release of key earnings reports from tech giants Microsoft and Alphabet after the bell.
At the close, the Dow had slipped 2.4% to 33,240 points.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed 4% down at 12,491 points, with the S&P 500 faring slightly better, down 2.8% to 4,175 points.
12:15pm: US stocks drop as April stock sell-off continues
US stocks continued to drop by midday on Tuesday, as investors await a slew of big tech earnings this week.
At noon, the Dow had slipped 1.5% to 33,542 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 2.8%, with the S&P 500 also down 1.8%.
Chief market analyst at IG Chris Beauchamp said the “wrong kind of Turnaround Tuesday” has taken place, reversing Monday’s rebound.
“Excitement over the Twitter buyout has faded and instead nerves about big tech earnings this week as come to the fore, explaining why the Nasdaq is taking it on the chin this afternoon,” Beauchamp said.
11.05am: Proactive North America headlines:
Diamond Equity Research says Guardforce AI (NASDAQ:GFAI) has unrealized potential as it initiates coverage
Arizona Silver receives “positive” Decision Memo from US Forest Service for drilling at its Sycamore Canyon project in Arizona
Kontrol Technologies poised to extend its Kontrol BioCloud technology to detect viruses in wastewater
Doubleview Gold reveals new analytical data showing scandium grades from the Lisle deposit at its Hat project in British Columbia
Northstar Gold flags up new independent technical report for Bryce gold project, Ontario
Stifel GMP maintains 'Buy' on Steppe Gold after site visit reveals steady state operation at its ATO mine in Mongolia
Canaccord Genuity (TSX:CF, LSE:CF) repeats 'Speculative Buy' rating and $3.00 target price on Think Research Corporation (TSX-V:THNK)
American Resources partners with Land Betterment Corp to help create Kentucky museum on former mining site
Albert Labs announces addition of two experts to its scientific advisory board
Zephyr Energy has plenty of upside at Paradox Project, Turner Pope Investments says
SPYR (OTCQB:SPYR) Technologies says its Applied Magix subsidiary eyeing new distribution opportunities around the globe
Gaming Realms maintains track record of hitting targets
Sanatana Resources closes year one obligations under earn-in agreement for ArcWest Exploration’s Oweegee project
Elon Musk will soon own Twitter - but what are we likely to see next?
Vicinity Motor inks Pacific islands distribution deal with Hawaii’s Soderholm Sales & Leasing
CleanSpark says it has finalized $35 million in non-dilutive financing from Trinity Capital
Predictive Oncology announces Theresa Ferguson as the company's senior director of Marketing
Essex Minerals says it has optioned Queensland copper and gold project to Meryllion Resources
PlantX Life says Bloombox Club subsidiary launches new e-commerce platform in France
Arrow Exploration posts net income in 2021 as company lifts output and realizes strong oil and gas prices
Paltalk (NASDAQ:PALT) launches its mobile backgammon game
North Arrow reports initial diamond recoveries from 2021 bulk sample from its Naujaat diamond project
Bloom Health Partners extends Texas contract for COVID-19 testing in K-12 schools
Goldshore Resources to expand exploration program at Moss Lake gold project following encouraging drill results at the Ontario property
Solstice Gold reveals exploration plans for its New Frontier and Red Lake Extension projects in Ontario; appoints Pablo McDonald as its exploration manager
Mednow forecasts 175% growth in Q3 revenue to record $5M-$5.5M
Psyched Wellness (CSE:PSYC, OTCQB:PSYCF) announces key findings from 90-day oral toxicity study on Amanita Muscaria extract
Medallion launches new clean energy technology strategy, including rebrand and Nasdaq listing
Great Panther Mining reports 65% uplift in open pit M&I resources at Brazil mine as it unveils latest reserve and resource estimates
Bam Bam Resources (CSE:BBR) says board of directors approves share consolidation plan and related name change
Altaley Mining files updated PFS for Tahuehueto, which improves Mexico mine's economics by 30%
Vanstar Mining begins 4,000-metre drill program at Bousquet-Odyno in Quebec
Electra Battery Materials says its shares will start trading on Nasdaq on April 27
BMEX Gold discovers Luxor gold zone at King Tut and announces its 2022 exploration program
Looking Glass Labs says House of Kibaa subsidiary inks strategic alliance with DatChat for metaverse integration
NorthWest Copper (TSX-V:NWST) appoints Peter Lekich as director of investor relations
Tocvan Ventures says drilling at Pilar Gold-Silver project continues to reveal high-grade gold mineralization
Revive Therapeutics says in discussions with BARDA for potential development and commercial support for its COVID-19 oral drug, Bucillamine
9.55am: US shares start lower
US shares slumped at the open to continue April's stock sell-off.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 164 points at 33,884. The S&P 500 lost 29 points at 4,266.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange lost 167 points to stand at 12,836.
It comes as durable goods orders in the US rose 0.8% last month, according to official data.
These are long-lasting goods (at least three years) such as appliances and cars, which resumed their upward trend following a sharp drop in demand at the end of winter.
Orders increased by 0.8% (in line with economists' forecasts) to a seasonally adjusted US$275 billion in March following a 1.7% drop in February.
"Overall, these data indicate that the trend in orders is still quite strong, despite the downshift in some of the survey evidence. The latest problems in China aren’t helping, but domestic demand for durable goods is robust, so the recovery in manufacturing output is set to continue," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
"The whole sector will be boosted over the next few months by rising well-drilling activity, which needs to rise very substantially in order to catch up with the surge in oil prices," he added.
6.30am: Mood remains fragile
US stocks were expected to open lower on Tuesday with the focus firmly on corporate earnings, especially in the technology and consumer sectors, even though recent share price falls brought out some bargain hunters by the close on Monday.
The war in Ukraine and its impact on commodity prices also continue to worry investors alongside fears that economic growth in China may be starting to slow amid the country’s tough measures on COVID-19.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.3% in pre-market trading, while those for the broader S&P 500 index were down 0.2%, and contracts for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lost 0.2%.
“The focus continues on mega tech stocks and their earnings, and if any of them miss the estimates like Netflix, pessimism will likely take control of the price action,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at avatrade.com.
“Nearly 160 S&P 500 companies will report their earnings this week, but the earnings results from Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Apple will set the tone for trading,” he added.
Companies due to release results today include PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP), United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS), General Electric (NYSE:GE) and Visa before the bell, which will go some way to show how consumers are reacting to the recent spate of worrying global developments, while tech giants Microsoft Inc and Google owner Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) will report after the New York close.
On the economic news front, US Consumer Confidence data is due today and will be closely watched for signs that levels of optimism may be falling.
Over in Asia, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down as China stepped up widespread testing for COVID-19, although the main indices in Hong Kong and Japan were higher.
“China's zero-tolerance policy for covid remains a concern for traders as this represents a threat to the global supply chain,” said Aslam.
Benchmark Brent crude futures were down 0.5% at $101.61 a barrel, while WTI was 0.8% lower at $97.75 a barrel.
“One thing that traders will be looking at very closely regarding oil demand is the outcome of the mass covid test that is taking place across China's largest cities. If the results are unsatisfactory, the government could force a lockdown which will be highly disastrous,” he added.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com