[New York Stock Market] Mixed Trends Amid Earnings Watch... Nasdaq Down 0.27%

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] Major indices on the U.S. New York Stock Exchange closed mixed on the 24th (local time) as investors monitored corporate earnings reports.

On the day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 104.40 points (0.31%) from the previous close to finish at 33,733.96. Meanwhile, the large-cap-focused S&P 500 index fell 2.86 points (0.07%) to 4,016.95, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index dropped 30.14 points (0.27%) to close at 11,334.27.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Investors kept an eye on mixed corporate earnings ahead of next week's Federal Reserve (Fed) Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Victoria Fernandez, chief market strategist at Crossmark Global Investments, said, "The market showed strong gains over two days on expectations of a Fed rate hike pause, but the earnings confirmed yesterday and this morning are really mixed," reflecting the mood.

General Electric (GE) reported earnings exceeding market expectations before the open, closing up 1.17% from the previous session. 3M fell 6.21% amid disappointing net income and news of 2,500 job cuts. Johnson & Johnson closed at a level similar to the previous session. Raytheon Technologies posted slightly better-than-expected earnings per share and rose 3.35%. Microsoft (MS) is scheduled to report earnings immediately after the market close.

Meanwhile, the meme stock Bed Bath & Beyond surged more than 15%. Alphabet slipped about 2% after the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google. Shortly after the market opened, a malfunction at the NYSE temporarily halted trading of major companies such as ExxonMobil, McDonald's, and Walmart. Dennis Dick, founder of Triple D Trading, called it "really a mess" and said, "In 22 years of trading, I've never seen anything like this at the NYSE." The NYSE later confirmed that all systems were operating normally.

The economic indicators released on the day showed slight improvement compared to before but still confirmed a contraction phase. The January manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) compiled by S&P Global was 46.8, slightly up from 46.2 the previous month. The non-manufacturing PMI reached 46.6, the highest in three months. However, both indices remained below the baseline of 50, indicating contraction.

Investors are also watching next week's FOMC amid easing inflation trends. Expectations remain that the Fed will narrow the rate hike to 0.25 percentage points at the February FOMC. According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch, the federal funds (FF) futures market currently reflects over a 98% probability of a 0.25 percentage point rate hike in February.

Lee Hardman of MUFG mentioned China's economic reopening, reduced concerns about a European recession, and easing U.S. inflation, stating, "This means investors' worries about a global economic hard landing have eased." He added that, contrary to central bank officials including the Fed who argue that victory in the fight against inflation is still far off, he now holds new confidence that rate hikes could stop this year. Earlier, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the Fed's rate hikes are nearing their end and discussions about pausing hikes could take place at this meeting.

In the New York bond market, Treasury yields fell as the earnings season kicked off and investors monitored major corporate results. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to around 3.45%. The 2-year yield, sensitive to monetary policy, dropped to about 4.21%. The U.S. dollar declined slightly. The Dollar Index, which measures the dollar's value against six major currencies, fell to around 101.9.

Oil prices fell more than 1% on profit-taking. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, March delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed at $80.13 per barrel, down $1.49 (1.83%) from the previous session. This was the largest decline since January 4.