US open: Stocks mixed ahead of FOMC decision

1st May 2024 14:33

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Wednesday as market participants awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting and digested more mega-cap earnings.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.14% at 37,868.01, while the S&P 500 lost 0.28% to 5,021.53 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.21% weaker at 15,625.55.

The Dow opened 52.09 points higher on Wednesday as the blue-chip index comes off its worst monthly performance since September 2022.

Central bank policymakers will meet for the second day of their two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, with their latest interest rate decision and policy statement due for 1900 BST. The Fed is broadly anticipated to keep interest rates steady. However, investors have grown worried that chairman Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments may be more hawkish than originally thought as a result of a run of hotter-than-expected inflation reports.

In the corporate space, Amazon said after the close on Tuesday that profits had more than tripled in the first quarter of its current trading year after, principally driven by its cloud computing unit, but still delivered quarterly revenues that fell short of estimates on the Street, while shares in chipmaker maker Advanced Micro Devices headed south after delivering in-line revenue guidance for its current trading quarter

Starbucks also tanked after slashing its outlook following disappointing same-store sales, while CVS Health was firmly in the red after reporting disappointing earnings and lowering profit guidance, and Pfizer surpassed revenue estimates and lifted full-year profit guidance as the drugmaker benefitted from cost-cutting efforts and strong sales within its non-Covid segments.

Qualcomm and DoorDash will both report after the close of trading.

On the macro front, mortgage applications fell 2.3% in the week ended 26 April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the two-month-high decline of 2.7% seen in the previous week. Last week's drop followed another fresh increase in mortgage rates as expectations that high inflation will force the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates at a higher clip for longer triggered an increase in Treasury yields. Applications to refinance a home fell 3%, while applications to purchase a new home fell by 2%.

Elsewhere, private sector employment in the US rose more than expected April, according to figures released on Wednesday by the ADP. Employment increased by 192,000 from March, versus expectations for a 180,000 jump. Meanwhile, March's gain was revised from 184,000 to 208,000. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees added 38,000 employees, while medium businesses with between 50 and 499 employees added 62,000, while large businesses with more than 500 employees created an additional 98,000 jobs.

Moving on, S&P Global's April manufacturing purchasing managers index stood at 50.0, little changed from the preliminary estimate of 49.9 but down from March's reading of 51.9 and putting a halt to a three-month streak of improving operating conditions. Output growth decelerated to its slowest pace in three months, while new orders declined for the first time in four months.

On another note, US construction spending fell by 0.2% month-on-month in March, according to the Census Bureau, following a revised flat reading in February and missing market expectations for a 0.3% increase. Private spending shrank by 0.5%, led by a 0.7% decrease in the residential segment, while public construction outlays saw a 0.8% increase compared to the previous month. On an annualised basis, construction spending advanced by 9.6% in March.

Still on data, the Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 in April, down from 50.3 in March and firmly below market expectations of a flat monthly reading.

Finally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said job openings declined by 325,000 to 8.48m in March, the lowest level seen since February 2021 and missing market forecasts for a reading of 8.69m. Job openings decreased in construction and in finance and insurance, but increased in state and local government education.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $150.01 3.75%

3M Co. (MMM) $99.40 2.99%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $392.55 0.83%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $213.73 0.74%

Boeing Co. (BA) $168.65 0.48%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $275.24 0.48%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $170.77 0.26%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $47.09 0.23%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $484.68 0.20%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $427.36 0.15%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $17.44 -1.61%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $90.89 -1.48%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $330.00 -1.26%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.18 -0.94%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $164.84 -0.82%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $266.92 -0.75%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $58.99 -0.60%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $61.47 -0.49%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $160.60 -0.42%

American Express Co. (AXP) $233.10 -0.40%

S&P 500 - Risers

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $231.17 6.06%

Extra Space Storage (EXR) $139.43 3.83%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $150.01 3.75%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $53.73 3.23%

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $26.41 3.08%

3M Co. (MMM) $99.40 2.99%

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $248.96 2.92%

Sealed Air Corp. (SEE) $32.40 2.92%

Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $179.52 2.58%

Humana Inc. (HUM) $309.65 2.50%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) $12.15 -32.76%

CVS Health Corp (CVS) $54.53 -19.47%

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $74.69 -15.59%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $91.53 -14.13%

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $16.82 -11.10%

Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $133.85 -8.76%

Global Payments Inc. (GPN) $113.60 -7.47%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $147.43 -6.91%

Clorox Co. (CLX) $138.11 -6.60%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $36.29 -6.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $231.17 6.06%

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.87 5.43%

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $3.07 4.25%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $53.73 3.23%

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $248.96 2.92%

Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $179.52 2.58%

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $93.38 1.89%

Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $120.62 1.52%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $165.24 1.51%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $167.02 1.45%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $74.69 -15.59%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $91.53 -14.13%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $36.29 -6.00%

Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $472.65 -4.08%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $832.84 -3.61%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $88.89 -3.36%

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $65.83 -3.08%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $1,269.92 -2.33%

Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $70.29 -2.29%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $611.29 -2.29%