new York After another turbulent trading day, the stock markets caught up again at the close of trading in New York: the US standard index Dow Jones closed down 0.3 percent at 31,730 points. The broad S&P 500 was down half a percent, at 3910 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq turned slightly into positive territory and ended at 11,371 points. However, a turnaround is not in sight. US producer prices, among other things, caused headaches for investors during the course of the day. In April they fell to eleven percent year-on-year. However, analysts had predicted a decline to 10.7 percent.
“We’re seeing inflation starting to slow, but not as fast as we’d hoped,” said Gene Goldman, chief investor at wealth manager Cetera. This unsettles investors, because if the Fed raises interest rates too aggressively, this will harm growth. “But if they’re too conservative, it hurts consumption, which in turn hurts growth.”
New corona cases in districts of the Chinese economic metropolis Shanghai that had previously been designated as “Covid-free” also weighed on the mood. This indicates that the lockdown there will be maintained and that economic life will remain severely restricted, said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann.
The trading day was also marked by further bad news for the technology industry. Big tech companies Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet, which have been the big winners in the markets for years, are now all in a bear market. That means they’re down more than 20 percent from their recent all-time high. The weakness at Apple in particular unsettled investors. The iPhone maker lost almost three percent on Thursday and has lost around 17 percent in a month. The group also lost the title of the most valuable listed group, which the oil company Saudi Aramco now carries.
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It’s a sign of the times. With interest rates rising and the war in Ukraine, energy companies are once again in the spotlight. Stephanie Link, strategist at asset manager Hightower, sees an entry point for investors here. “Apple has a dominant position in the market and recurring revenue streams. The group is probably buying back shares itself. That should form a floor,” she pointed out.
In return, investors headed for “safe havens” such as US government bonds. This pushed the yield on ten-year US bonds to 2.864 percent. The “anti-crisis currency” gold, on the other hand, fell one percent to $1,835 per troy ounce (31.1 grams). She was troubled by the dollar rally, which is making the precious metal less attractive to investors outside the United States.
Disney disappoints with quarterly results
Walt Disney was one of the losers on the US stock market. The titles of the entertainment group fell because of a quarterly result below market expectations by 0.92 percent to 104.31 dollars. The company also warned of strains from supply chain problems and rising wages and salaries. Analysts at bank JPMorgan questioned Disney’s ability to sustain subscriber growth at its Disney+ streaming division and meet its full-year targets.
On the other hand, investors grabbed the Bumble papers. A surprising quarterly profit and sales above market expectations gave the operator of dating apps a plus of 26.83 percent.
New features and overseas expansion point to accelerated customer growth in the coming quarters, commented experts at investment bank Piper Sandler. At the same time, investors flirted with Bumble rival and Tinder provider Match. Its shares gained 5.35 percent.
Course jump at Gamestop and AMC Entertainment
Two stocks moved conspicuously against the trend shortly after the stock market launch: Gamestop rose by more than 30 percent at times and was stopped several times due to volatility. The papers closed 10, 12 up. The shares of the cinema chain AMC Entertainment moved up 8.06 percent.
Both stocks had caused a stir early last year when a group of retail investors coordinated trading in online chat rooms to create massive short squeezes in stocks hated by many hedge funds and market participants.
Individual values in focus
Ford/General Motors: The US bank Wells Fargo has downgraded both stocks from “overweight” to “underweight”. Rationale: 2022 could be a profit peak for legacy automakers due to the shift to electric vehicles. Ford shares are down 3 percent and General Motors 4.59 percent.
Six flags: The amusement park operator reported a smaller-than-expected loss and better-than-projected revenue. The reasons given by the company were an increase in visitor numbers and higher expenses per guest. However, the shares fell 4.71 percent.
work: Shares rose 10.39 percent after the quarterly results were released. The office-sharing company reported revenue that beat forecasts. The quarterly loss was 37 percent below that of the previous quarter. And gross sales were the highest since the first quarter of 2020.
Sonos: The maker of high-end audio products’ stock rose 14.26 percent after the quarterly results. Sonos posted better-than-expected sales on sustained high demand, although growth could be hampered by ongoing supply chain issues.
Beyond Meat: Shares slipped 4.17 percent. The maker of plant-based meat alternatives reported a higher-than-expected quarterly loss and sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates.
According to CEO Ethan Brown, costs related to strategic launches had impacted earnings. But in his opinion, this should pay off in the long term.
Lordstown engines: The stock climbed 47.02 percent. The electric vehicle maker has completed the sale of various assets to contract manufacturer Foxconn. Lordstown will take in $260 million as a result.
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