Share

Revenue slowdown at Alphabet helps drag US stocks lower

Share

BANGKOK (AP) — Financial markets were mostly closed in Asia on Wednesday for holidays after Wall Street capped a wobbly trading session with meager gains.

Australia’s S&P ASX 200 rose 0.8% on Wednesday after ANZ reported a 2% increase in its profit, kicking off the earnings season for the country’s Big Four banks. New Zealand’s benchmark fell 0.6%.

There was no word of specific progress in trade talks between the U.S. and China that were underway in Beijing. With most global markets closed, investors are focusing on a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, a late spurt of buying helped the S&P 500 claim an all-time high for the third straight trading session after hovering below its previous high for most of the day.

Household goods makers, health care stocks, utilities and other sectors helped lift the market, narrowly offsetting a steep decline in communications companies.

Trending:
Federal Judge Has Bad News for Hunter Biden, Says There's Zero Evidence His Charges Are Politically Motivated

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, led the slide after the search giant reported a slowdown in revenue growth. Retailers and hospitality industry companies also fell.

The market’s latest gyrations came as investors weighed the latest batch of corporate earnings reports.

“This is a market that’s trying to find its way after advancing nearly 18% through last night on a year-to-date basis,” said Lindsey Bell, investment strategist at CFRA. “While the numbers have been good, there still remains a cautious tone in the market.”

The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, to 2,945.83, while Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1% to 26,592.91.

The Nasdaq, which is heavily weighted with technology companies, fell 0.8% to 8,095.39. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks dropped 0.4% to 1,591.21.

Major indexes in Europe finished mostly higher.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10 year Treasury fell to 2.50% from 2.53% late Monday.

The U.S. stock market has been riding high this year after mounting a big comeback from a steep slump at the end of 2018. Investors have been feeling more optimistic this year as fears of a global economic recession eased and negotiations between the U.S. and China over their costly trade war appear to be making progress.

The Federal Reserve has done the most to allay the market’s jitters this year by signaling that it may not raise interest rates at all in 2019 after seven increases the previous two years.

Related:
Former MSNBC Host Chuck Todd Furious After Network Hires Former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel

Traders will get to hear from the Fed again on Wednesday, when the central bank’s policymakers issue another update on interest rate policy and their view on the U.S. economy.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gave up 58 cents to $63.33 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 0.6% to settle at $63.91 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 47 cents to $71.59 per barrel. It added 1.1% to close at $72.80 per barrel in the previous session.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 111.49 Japanese yen from 111.42 yen late Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1219 from $1.1215.

___

AP Business writers Alex Veiga and Damian J. Troise contributed to this report.

The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
Share
The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City. Their teams in over 100 countries tell the world’s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting. They provide content and services to help engage audiences worldwide, working with companies of all types, from broadcasters to brands. Photo credit: @AP on Twitter
The Associated Press was the first private sector organization in the U.S. to operate on a national scale. Over the past 170 years, they have been first to inform the world of many of history's most important moments, from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the fall of the Shah of Iran and the death of Pope John Paul.

Today, they operate in 263 locations in more than 100 countries relaying breaking news, covering war and conflict and producing enterprise reports that tell the world's stories.
Location
New York City




Conversation