by Stephen Culp

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended mixed on Monday, as bond yields fell and investors prepared for a busy week of quarterly results, with about a third of the companies in the S&P-500 , and the publication of highly anticipated economic data.

The Dow Jones index fell 0.58%, or 190.87 points, to 32,936.41 points.

The broader S&P-500 lost 7.12 points, or 0.17%, to 4,217.04 points.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 34.52 points (0.27%) to 13,018.33 points.

While the S&P-500 ended in a slight decline, high-growth stocks, sensitive to interest rates, some of which are publishing their results this week, took the Nasdaq into the green. The Dow Jones declined for a fourth consecutive session.

“It’s still all about interest rates, with the view sort of shifting from ‘higher for longer’ to ‘how high, for how long?'” commented Oliver Pursche, vice president of Wealthspire Advisors, New York.

“The market has accepted the idea that the Fed is not going to lower interest rates anytime soon,” he added.

Nearly a third of S&P-500 companies are releasing their quarterly results this week, including tech giants Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Amazon, as well as industrial heavyweights General Motors, Ford Motor and Boeing.

Investors are hoping these seven groups “are going to surprise on top,” said Sam Stovall, a strategist at CFRA Research in New York.

So far, 86 of the S&P-500 companies have released their results. Of these, 78% beat expectations, according to LSEG data.

Analysts expect the quarterly turnover of all S&P-500 companies to be up 1.2% year-on-year – compared to an increase of 1.6% expected at the start of the month, ‘after LSEG.

In parallel with the results, the American Department of Commerce will communicate on Thursday the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States for the July-September period. Economists anticipate an increase of 4.3%.

A report on consumption, scheduled for Friday, will provide new information on inflation.

Markets also continue to monitor, in the background, the conflict in the Middle East and any signs indicating a potential escalation.

Among the major sectors of the S&P-500, communications services were the best performers, while energy saw the biggest decline.

On the stock side, Walgreens Boots Alliance jumped 3.3% after JP Morgan raised its recommendation.

Chevron lost 3.7% after announcing the acquisition of its competitor Hess Corp.

( Jean Terzian)

Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters