(News Bulletin 247) – After a good start, Wall Street moved on a more hesitant note late Wednesday morning despite the good surprise provided by Microsoft’s reassuring quarterly publication.
Shortly before 11:00 a.m. (New York time), the Dow Jones lost 0.3% to 33,416.3 points, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.9% to 11,905.9 points.
Microsoft climbed 7.5% after beating consensus on both revenue and profit in the first quarter, largely on the strength of its cloud business.
The computer giant also contributed very largely to the jump of more than 2% in the S&P index of technology stocks, the largest sectoral increase at the start of the day.
Alphabet (+1.1%) is also progressing after having reached or even beaten the consensus, particularly under the effect of the undeniable resistance of its Internet search engine.
Several companies, from the most diverse sectors, published solid results, somewhat allaying the fears of investors who thought that the earnings season had gotten off to a slow start.
Boeing thus advances by more than 2% after having reduced its losses in the first quarter and confirmed its annual objectives due to the recovery of its aircraft deliveries, 737 in the lead.
On the economic front, new durable goods orders rebounded vigorously in March, suggesting that the US economy is continuing to do well.
However, this good news is struggling to eclipse the ever-present worries about the US economy heading into recession, new difficulties on the banks’ side and a deterioration in commercial real estate.
The hesitations expressed on Wall Street allowed yields to fall back, the feverishness caused by the instability of the stock market constituting an element likely to support the bond market.
The 10-year yield thus fell to 3.39%, in concert with the dollar which crumbled against the euro in the 1.1050 zone.
On the oil market, crude oil prices fell further, with WTI down 0.7% to 76.5 dollars despite the announcement of a decline in weekly crude oil inventories last week in the United States.
Copyright (c) 2023 News Bulletin 247. All rights reserved.
I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
