ROUNDUP/New York stocks: Initial gains fizzle out – tech stocks are friendly

NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – Wall Street was unable to maintain its initial gains on Thursday and fell back to the previous day’s level. The disproportionately strong technology stocks also had to lose feathers. Investors weighed the predominantly positive company figures against unexpectedly weak US economic data, it said.

The Dow Jones Industrial turned negative and was last listed 0.05 percent lower at 33,283.65 points. The market-wide S&P 500 gained 0.24 percent to 4193.91 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, which fell to its lowest level in more than a year the day before, rose 0.43 percent to 13,059.33 points on Thursday.

Very positively received business figures of the Facebook parent company Meta and the resulting jump in the share price were seen in early trading as a driver for the initially significant gains among the technology stocks, which had recently slipped significantly. After the market close, the numbers of the tech industry giants Amazon, Apple and Intel are expected. “The earnings season has delivered more good news than bad news overall and could help divert investor focus from the macroeconomic headwinds that have weighed on major indices this month,” said National Securities market strategist Art Hogan.

Meanwhile, the US economy contracted surprisingly over the winter. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell an annualized 1.4 percent in the first quarter. Economists, on the other hand, had expected growth of 1.0 percent. As expected, initial jobless claims fell slightly last week.

Because the number of Facebook users increased significantly again at the beginning of the year after a recent slump, the papers of the social media giant Meta soared by 11.3 percent. DZ Bank expert Ingo Wermann spoke of a “rally of relief” and then gave up his previous sell recommendation. According to Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney, the rating of the paper has “now become downright ridiculous” for a leading global social media platform.

There was also relief in the tech industry because of good numbers from Qualcomm. A strong position in the smartphone market had brought rapid growth to the chip company, which is geared towards the telecoms sector, in the past quarter, with shares rising by 4.0 percent. Experts therefore consider price gains in the diversified US chip sector to be likely. The shares of the payment service provider Paypal also increased by 4.0 percent according to figures.

The earnings season also continued among Dow members with agendas packed to the brim. However, there was more mixed news here overall. There were price gains of 2.0 and 3.6 percent at McDonald’s and Merck & Co. The fast-food chain posted better-than-expected quarterly profits, and the drugmaker’s raised full-year targets were well received.

This was offset by price losses of 5.4 at Amgen. Despite a surprisingly significant increase in sales in the first quarter, the biotech company is sticking to its annual revenue forecast, disappointing its investors. Worries about an impending back tax payment added to the burden.

Caterpillar lost 5.2 percent. After the quarterly figures were presented, investors worried about the construction machinery group’s business in China. According to analysts, margin problems are likely to continue in the second quarter./edh/he

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