SEC investigates NYSE glitch; mixed earnings; indexes mixed; Microsoft to report earnings.
Wall Street was mixed on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rising 0.18%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) off 0.13%, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) down 0.25%. The session got off to a rocky start, as a technical glitch caused wide swings in opening prices of stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), prompting an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Fourth quarter earnings season is in full swing, with 72 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 65% have beaten consensus, just a hair below the 66% long-term average, according to Refinitiv. On aggregate, analysts now expect S&P 500 earnings 2.9% below the year-ago quarter, down from the 1.6% year-on-year decline seen on Jan. 1, per Refinitiv.
Economic data showed shallower-than-expected contraction in the manufacturing and services sector in the first weeks of the year, suggesting that the Federal Reserve’s restrictive interest rates are dampening demand. All three indexes sputtered near the starting line, with little apparent momentum in either direction.
Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE.N), owner of the NYSE, dropped 2.5% as SEC investigators searched for the cause of Tuesday’s opening bell confusion. Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) shares dipped 1.8% after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Google for abusing its dominance of the digital advertising business. Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ.N) profit guidance came in above analyst expectations, but its stock softened 0.3%.
Industrial conglomerates 3M Co (MMM.N) and General Electric Co (GE.N) both provided underwhelming forward guidance due to inflationary headwinds. 3M’s shares were off 5.1% while General Electric’s were modestly lower. Aerospace/defense companies Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX.N) were a study in contrasts, with the former issuing a disappointing profit forecast and the latter beating estimates on solid travel demand.
Tuesday’s session on Wall Street saw mixed trading with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.18%, the S&P 500 off 0.13%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.25%. It began with an apparent technical glitch on the NYSE, which caused wide swings in opening prices and prompted an investigation by the SEC. This overshadowed the fourth quarter earnings season, where 72 of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported, with 65% beating consensus.
Economic data showed shallower-than-expected contraction in the manufacturing and services sector in the first weeks of the year, suggesting that the Federal Reserve’s restrictive interest rates are dampening demand. Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE.N), owner of the NYSE, dropped 2.5% due to the technical glitch, while Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) shares dipped 1.8% after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Google for abusing its dominance of the digital advertising business.
Industrial conglomerates 3M Co (MMM.N) and General Electric Co (GE.N) both provided underwhelming forward guidance due to inflationary headwinds. Aerospace/defense companies Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX.N) were a study in contrasts, with the former issuing a disappointing profit forecast and the latter beating estimates on solid travel demand. Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is due to report after the bell.
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