4:05pm: US stocks hold steady
At the close on Wednesday, US stocks sat roughly where they started the day, providing investors with a breather after a volatile trading day on Tuesday.
The Dow closed 0.19% or 62 points up at 33,302 points and the S&P 500 also finished the day in the green, up 0.21% to 4,184 points.
The Nasdaq closed just in the red, down 0.01% or 2 points at 12,489.
1.30pm: Proactive North America headlines:
Fabled Copper says airborne survey has identified new anomalies on its Muskwa copper project in British Columbia
Pathway Health (TSX-V:PHC) sees FY2021 revenue of C$10.9M as sales hold steady amidst pandemic challenges
Cloud DX (TSX-V:CDX, OTCQB:CDXFF) strengthens position in the US with signing of Illinois clinic
Alien Metals set for company defining year says broker
Todos Medical says it's set for study to assess potential product development of Tollovid to treat COVID-19 and Long COVID-19
Avalon GloboCare files 16 patent applications related to cellular therapies as company moves towards clinical trials
Quebec Nickel mobilizes second drill rig to its Ducros property after VTEM survey data reveals multiple new targets
Loncor Gold says discussions continue with potential partners over development of DRC gold deposits
Falcon Gold appoints Glayton Dias as exploration manager for British Columbia and South America
Vivakor awarded 10-year contract for the sale of asphalt from its Utah facility
Western Magnesium says it is "just weeks" away from magnesium production as its pilot plant receives inspection approval
Belmont announces completion of first drill program at Come By Chance project in southern British Columbia
American Resources joins global Rare Earth Industry Association
Wishpond forecasts ‘healthy’ growth for current year after Q4 revenue surges 107%
Viscount Mining says drilling has started at Cherry Creek Project in Nevada
ESE Entertainment says its K1CK esports team qualifies for Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS)
Clean Air Metals hails latest infill drilling results from Escape deposit at Thunder Bay North project
Guardforce AI (NASDAQ:GFAI) to present its Robotics-as-a-Service solution at the Hotel Show in Dubai
Unigold updates on application for Exploitation Licence at Neita concession in Dominican Republic
Vox Royalty (TSX-V:VOX) prepares for productive year ahead after reporting record 2021 results
Benchmark Metals reports 93% gold recovery from tests at Lawyers gold-silver project
Victory Resources acquires Saguenay Nickel Project in Quebec
Gungnir Resources says drilling at Lappvattnet high-grade nickel project to start next week
Cloud DX (TSX-V:CDX, OTCQB:CDXFF) enters into definitive agreement for a $500,000 revolving loan
12:35 US stocks steady at noon
US stocks were stable at midday on Wednesday, as investors look toward the release of the latest numbers from several key companies, including Meta this afternoon and Amazon and Apple tomorrow.
The Dow was up 1.25% or 414 points to reach 33,654 points.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have also risen slightly, both up 1.4%.
Among the notable movers, The Boeing Company had dipped about 7% following the release of its 1Q earnings for 2022 which showed the company’s revenues fell short of analyst expectations by almost $2 billion due to production snafus.
Senior Market Analyst at OANDA Craig Erlam said there was a little bit of positivity back in the markets on Wednesday but noted "there's still plenty of underlying unease amid a mixed bag of earnings and rising uncertainty."
"Earnings season will continue to be a core focus for investors, despite the wide array of other factors that have been dominating market sentiment for months," Erlam said.
"It has gone quite well so far but it's clear that there are some big challenges ahead which explain why we're not seeing the lift we may otherwise see."
9.41am: Wall Street shares kick off higher
US markets started higher midweek after yesterday's sell-off as traders mull over rising inflation, interest rate rises, China’s COVID outbreak and Russia's move to cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 146 points in New York to stand at 33,386.
The broader-based S&P 500 gained around 20 points at 4,195. The tech-laden Nasdaq index added around 90 points at 12,581.
"Following Tuesday’s big drop in equity prices, we have seen a sharp rebound so far in today’s session. But like we have seen previously, the overall macro backdrop is not very positive right now. Thus, the latest rebound could, once again, get faded into, possibly as soon as later this afternoon," noted Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com
The analyst suggested that Wednesday's rebound was driven by "bargain hunting and short-covering".
"When you consider the fact that there is an energy crisis in Europe, with Russia’s decision to suspend gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria potentially triggering an energy war, China’s determination to beat Covid outbreak with lockdowns, and – above all – a Federal Reserve pursing an aggressive monetary tightening policy, investors find it difficult to buy and hold stocks for the long term, without first seeing a major correction – even if the Nasdaq is close to wiping out its entire 2021 gains."
On the earnings front, shares in computer titan Microsoft Corp added almost 5% after the firm reported profit and sales estimates late on Tuesday, which beat forecasts.
Shares in Google parent Alphabet however slid 3.7% in New York as the tech giant unveiled sales and earnings, which fell short of estimates.
6.30am: Markets remain jittery
US stocks are expected to open higher, recovering from a sell-off that pushed the tech-heavy Nasdaq to its lowest close this year as jitters over corporate earnings added to global growth concerns, China’s lockdown slowdown and the impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.14% in Wednesday pre-market trading, while those for the broader S&P 500 index gained 1%, and contracts for the Nasdaq-100 also added 1%.
The Nasdaq Composite led Tuesday’s market decline, slumping 4% to 12,491 ahead of results from Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Google parent Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) after the bell. The S&P 500 fared slightly better with a 2.8% decline to 4,175 points, while the Dow slipped 2.4% to 33,240 points.
“Alphabet added to worries as it reported a miss on both the top and bottom lines as YouTube numbers notably underwhelmed. The Google parent partly blamed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine...ok whatever, I guess if people are spending a bit less you can blame that on Putin ... but as with inflation, the setup was all there before anyway,” commented Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.
“Whilst Alphabet’s earnings will undoubtedly add to concerns about megacap tech growth, Microsoft was a lot more encouraging, beating expectations on both the top and bottom lines. CEO Satya Nadella also brushed aside macroeconomic concerns and boasted that in an inflationary environment, software is ‘the only deflationary thing’,” he added.
After falling 3.6% on Tuesday, Alphabet's shares were 2.6% lower in pre-market trading. Microsoft's shares were 5.4% higher in pre-market trading following a 3.7% decline in the previous session.
Meanwhile, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s shares rose 2.6% in pre-market trading after sinking 12.2% on Tuesday over concern that chief executive Elon Musk may sell shares to help fund his $44 billion buyout of Twitter. Twitter’s stock sank 3.9%, taking it about 10% below Musk’s $54.20 per share offer price.
“Whilst this was against a backdrop of broad-based tech selling with the Nasdaq down almost 4%, it underscores that investors are naturally anxious about what Musk is up to and whether he can pull it off,” Wilson said.