For the market-wide S&P 500 it went downhill by 0.66 percent to 3488.67 points in the middle of the week. The technology-heavy selection index Nasdaq 100, which had only just slipped into the red on Tuesday, ultimately lost 0.81 percent to 11,985.36 points.
Initially, mixed company news and concerns about the worldwide development of the corona infection numbers had slowed down the willingness to take risks. Then US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin provided an additional mood damper. Although he wants to continue negotiating, he believes that an agreement with the Democrats on another corona economic stimulus program before the presidential election on November 3rd is difficult.
The latest business figures from the banking sector met with a cautious response on the market. While the shares of Goldman Sachs gained 0.2 percent, the stocks of the competitors Bank of America and Wells Fargo lost almost five and a half and six percent respectively.
Goldman was able to almost double its quarterly profit thanks to the flourishing stock exchange trading in the Corona crisis and increase earnings by 30 percent. The investment bank thus significantly exceeded analysts’ expectations. In contrast, Bank of America reported declining business in the face of high provisions for bad loans and low interest rates. Wells Fargo had a similar experience – analysts had expected better numbers.
The health insurer UnitedHealth saw a price decline of almost three percent, which meant that the shares were at the bottom of the Dow. The fact that the many corona infections in the third quarter did not eat up as much profit as feared did not help them.
Takeover plans in the oil industry, however, caused enthusiasm. The papers of Concho Resources jumped by a good ten percent after it was heard from insider circles that the oil giant ConocoPhillips is holding takeover talks with the group, which are, however, still at an early stage. ConocoPhillips shares fell 1 percent.
A reaction from both companies is still pending. With Concho Resources valued at around $ 13 billion, it would be the largest acquisition in the sector since the beginning of the year – arguably before Chevron’s most recent acquisition of Noble Energy.
Meanwhile, the truck and bus manufacturer Traton gave Navistar shareholders a cold shower. The Volkswagen subsidiary set them a deadline in the hanging game over the planned takeover of the US competitor. Navistar was informed that the previous offer would expire on October 16 at 6 p.m. (CEST). The raised offer of September 10 is $ 43 per share in cash. The shares of Navistar, which had climbed to more than $ 44 since then, closed a good 19 percent lower at $ 36.
After the weakness of the previous day, the euro went up again: In New York the common currency was last worth 1.1750 dollars. The European Central Bank (ECB) had set the reference rate at 1.1750 (Tuesday: 1.1787) dollars and the dollar had cost 0.8511 (0.8484) euros.
US Treasuries benefited from their status as a “safe haven” and gained a little: The futures contract for ten-year Treasuries (T-Note-Future) rose by 0.01 percent to 139.21 points, while the yield on ten-year bonds rose to 0, 72 percent sank./gl/he
— By Gerold Löhle, dpa-AFX —
(AWP)
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