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U.S. stocks finished little changed on Tuesday as investors digested a slew of corporate earnings reports from big banks and blue chip companies and also tried to gauge the future interest rate hike path. The S&P 500 ended in the green but the Dow and Nasdaq finished in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell less than 0.1% or 10.55 points to close at 33,976.63 points.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% or 3.55 points to finish at 4,154.87 points. Tech, energy and financial stocks were the best performers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) and the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) each gained 0.3%. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) rose 0.4%. Seven of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed less than 0.1% or 4.31 points to end at 12,153.41 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.71% to 16.83. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.01-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.29-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 9.8 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 10.7 billion.
Investors Assess Corporate Earnings and Economy’s Health
Stocks struggled to find direction in a choppy trading session on Tuesday as investors tried to gauge the nation’s economic health by assessing quarterly results from a slew of big companies, with the earnings season gathering steam.
The earnings season is still in its early phase but most of the big names that have reported quarterly results have so far been impressive. On Tuesday, a spate of big banks and other blue-chip companies reported quarterly earnings. However, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ((GS - Free Report) ) and Johnson & Johnson ((JNJ - Free Report) ) weighed down the Dow.
Shares of Johnson & Johnson ended 2.8% lower despite the company surpassing earnings and revenue estimates. The pharmaceutical giant reported first-quarter 2023 earnings of $2.68 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.51 per share. Johnson & Johnson has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Shares of Goldman Sachs also ended 1.7% lower after the banking giant reported lower-than-expected revenues. The company reported first-quarter 2023 earnings per share of $8.79 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.14. However, it reported net revenues of $12.22 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.03 billion.
Investors have been closely watching the banks report their quarterly results after the failure of the Silicon Valley Bank last month.
Banks have so far put up a good show but investors are worried that too much good news might prove to be inflationary which will make the Fed continue with its tightening policy.
Investors are already bracing for a 25-basis point interest rate hike when Fed officials meet next month. On Tuesday, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said that the Fed needs to go for “one more move” before holding steady the interest rate hikes to check how the economy performs under high-interest rates.
Meanwhile, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Tuesday that the Fed should continue hiking interest rates given that recent data shows inflation is still high. These have been unsettling markets, leading to a choppy trading session.
Economic Data
In economic data released on Tuesday, housing starts declined 0.8% in March after increasing 7.3% in February. Building permits also declined 8.8% in March owing to a slowdown in apartment building construction.
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Stock Market News for Apr 19, 2023
U.S. stocks finished little changed on Tuesday as investors digested a slew of corporate earnings reports from big banks and blue chip companies and also tried to gauge the future interest rate hike path. The S&P 500 ended in the green but the Dow and Nasdaq finished in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell less than 0.1% or 10.55 points to close at 33,976.63 points.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% or 3.55 points to finish at 4,154.87 points. Tech, energy and financial stocks were the best performers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) and the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) each gained 0.3%. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) rose 0.4%. Seven of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed less than 0.1% or 4.31 points to end at 12,153.41 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.71% to 16.83. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.01-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.29-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 9.8 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 10.7 billion.
Investors Assess Corporate Earnings and Economy’s Health
Stocks struggled to find direction in a choppy trading session on Tuesday as investors tried to gauge the nation’s economic health by assessing quarterly results from a slew of big companies, with the earnings season gathering steam.
The earnings season is still in its early phase but most of the big names that have reported quarterly results have so far been impressive. On Tuesday, a spate of big banks and other blue-chip companies reported quarterly earnings. However, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ((GS - Free Report) ) and Johnson & Johnson ((JNJ - Free Report) ) weighed down the Dow.
Shares of Johnson & Johnson ended 2.8% lower despite the company surpassing earnings and revenue estimates. The pharmaceutical giant reported first-quarter 2023 earnings of $2.68 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.51 per share. Johnson & Johnson has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Shares of Goldman Sachs also ended 1.7% lower after the banking giant reported lower-than-expected revenues. The company reported first-quarter 2023 earnings per share of $8.79 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.14. However, it reported net revenues of $12.22 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $13.03 billion.
Investors have been closely watching the banks report their quarterly results after the failure of the Silicon Valley Bank last month.
Banks have so far put up a good show but investors are worried that too much good news might prove to be inflationary which will make the Fed continue with its tightening policy.
Investors are already bracing for a 25-basis point interest rate hike when Fed officials meet next month. On Tuesday, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said that the Fed needs to go for “one more move” before holding steady the interest rate hikes to check how the economy performs under high-interest rates.
Meanwhile, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Tuesday that the Fed should continue hiking interest rates given that recent data shows inflation is still high. These have been unsettling markets, leading to a choppy trading session.
Economic Data
In economic data released on Tuesday, housing starts declined 0.8% in March after increasing 7.3% in February. Building permits also declined 8.8% in March owing to a slowdown in apartment building construction.