by Sinéad Carew, Ankika Biswas and Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended in mixed order on Wednesday, with only the Nasdaq ending higher on the heels of Microsoft’s gains the day after its results were published, amid concerns over a slowing U.S. economy and the banking sector weighed on the session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.68%, or 228.96 points, to 33,301.87 points.

The broader S&P-500 lost 15.64 points, or 0.38%, to 4,055.99 points.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 55.19 points (0.47%) to 11,854.35 points.

The S&P-500 and Dow Jones fell on a drop in the transportation sector and concerns over the banking sector, rocked by the failure of two regional banks last month, amid fears of a recession.

Microsoft, which published quarterly results better than expected on Tuesday after the close, recorded an increase of 7.2%.

Despite a quarter above expectations and the announcement of a share buyback program, Alphabet fell slightly, by 0.1%. Meta Platforms reported its post-closing results.

Microsoft’s strong sales benefited other tech players, like Amazon, one of its “cloud” rivals, and data storage giant Snowflake, which rose 8.5%.

“It’s the Nasdaq’s turn to shine thanks to the good results of Alphabet and Microsoft. People are again more optimistic on the forecast for technology”, commented Brian Jacobson, strategist at Allspring Global investments.

“Tech has been the lead car driving the market today,” he said.

Data showed that new orders for US-produced capital goods declined more than expected in March, while shipments fell, suggesting business spending on equipment weighed on growth in the economy. US economy in the first quarter.

However, analysts now anticipate a 3.2% year-on-year decline in quarterly results for S&P-500 companies, compared to -3.9% at the start of the week, thanks to results released on Tuesday evening.

Of the 163 S&P-500 companies reporting results, 79.8% beat expectations, according to Refinitiv data. Traditionally, 66% of companies beat the quarterly consensus.

On the sidelines of the earnings season, investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy meeting next week, which should result in a further 25 basis point rate hike. They also hope to find in the press release from the American central bank clues to the line it will adopt.

Among the major sectors of the S&P-500, only the technology sector finished in the green, with an increase of 1.7% after a peak of 2.8% in session.

On the values ​​side, among the movements to note, the fall of more than 29% of First Republic Bank, which had already tumbled the day before, after information according to which the American government is not ready to oversee the rescue of the regional bank, which reported a sharp decline in deposits from its customers.

Activision Blizzard fell 11.4% after the British competition authority rejected its takeover by Microsoft.

( Jean Terzian)

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