NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – Weak US economic data and recurring interest rate concerns spoiled the buying mood of investors on the US stock markets on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial closed down 1.81 percent at 33,296.96 points. The market-wide S&P 500 lost 1.56 percent to 3928.86 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 lost 1.27 percent to 11,410.29 points.
On the one hand, price inflation at the manufacturer level continued to ease, on the other hand, retail sales figures were unexpectedly weak. Both of these could give the US Federal Reserve reason to be less resolute in continuing its rate hike course in the future. However, some Fed members had recently reiterated the need to keep monetary policy tight, which had unsettled investors.
In late trading, the Fed announced in its economic report (Beige Book) that the economy in the USA had barely grown recently. There has been slight growth in some districts, while activity in other districts has remained stable or even shrunk. The assessment is therefore somewhat more cautious than at the end of November.
United Airlines shares were unable to maintain their significant early gains and ultimately lost 4.6 percent. For the time being, they ended their rapid rise of around 35 percent since the beginning of the new year. The airline turned back a significant profit thanks to a rebound in travel this past quarter, beating average analyst forecasts.
Microsoft shares fell 1.9 percent. The news of job cuts by the software giant fizzled out in trading. In view of the difficult market conditions, the Group plans to lay off around 10,000 employees by the end of the third quarter of 2022/23. That’s about five percent of the workforce. These and other measures incurred expenses of $1.2 billion in the second fiscal quarter.
The biotech company Moderna scored with the approval of an RSV vaccine for adults over 60 years of age, which it was aiming for in the first half of the year. The vaccine has shown “promising results” in the phase III study required for approval, it said. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes respiratory disease. Moderna, the Nasdaq 100 leader, surged 3.3 percent.
IBM’s shares lost 3.3 percent after a negative analyst comment, making them one of the weakest Dow stocks. The investment bank Morgan Stanley had downgraded the titles of the computer group.
The euro failed to hold its rise to a nine-month high in European trading and fell sharply in US trading to last time at $1.0794. In Europe, the price had climbed to $ 1.0887. The European Central Bank (ECB) set the reference rate at 1.0839 (Tuesday: 1.0843) dollars. The dollar thus cost 0.9226 (0.9222) euros.
US government bonds recorded significant price gains. The futures contract for ten-year bonds (T-Note Future) was last listed 1.08 percent higher at 115.91 points. In return, the yield on ten-year government bonds fell to 3.37 percent./edh/mis
