Shares of Google , Microsoft , Apple and Meta closed lower on Tuesday, following recent earnings reports.
A bad period for BigTech like Google , Meta , Microsoft , Apple and others. The New York stock market collapsed on Tuesday, with investors anxious for cautious forecasts from US companies, which support the thesis of an economic slowdown. The Dow Jones lost 2.38%, the technological Nasdaq 3.95% and the S&P 500, more representative of the market trend, 2.81%.
“There was caution today ahead of the Alphabet and Microsoft results, ” said Angelo Kourkafas, an analyst at Edward Jones, “but it’s still a bit surprising because there was no identifiable catalyst” for the market’s move.
Alphabet (-3.04%) and Microsoft (-3.74%) led the Nasdaq down, as did Meta (Facebook, -3.23%), Apple (-3.73%) and Amazon (- 4.58%), which will present their results on Thursday. These five companies represent 21% of the S&P 500.
Before, “we would see tech stocks fall when mandatory rates went up,” Kourkafas said. “But today, rates are coming down on growth concerns,” he stressed. The yield on US 10-year Treasury bonds fell to 2.72% on Tuesday, its lowest level in two weeks.
After the closing, Alphabet reported a lower turnover and net income than expected by analysts. In after-hours electronic trading, the stock was down almost 5%.
The concern is “clearly the possibility that even companies that are outperforming have a tendency to lower their forecasts,” said Tom Cahill of Ventura Wealth Management.
Thus, the GE conglomerate (-10.34% to 80.59 dollars), which is on its way to being divided into three different entities, had better-than-expected results in the first quarter both in terms of revenue and net income. But he indicated that in the future it will be oriented towards the lower part of the range of economic objectives announced.
On its side, JetBlue (-11.41% to 11.57 dollars), will reduce the volume of its flights by 10% this boreal summer to improve punctuality, but also to avert the rise in fuel prices and preserve margins.
Drinks and snacks maker PepsiCo improved its revenue forecasts for the year, but warned that it could continue to be affected by the volatility of raw material prices and supply chain disruptions.
Investors are eyeing China, where the prospect of a lockdown in Beijing appears increasingly likely to combat the coronavirus, while Shanghai, already in lockdown, recorded 17,000 new cases of the virus in 24 hours.
“The concern is that if China continues to lockdown, that could lead to further supply chain disruptions,” as well as a slowdown in Chinese demand, Tom Cahill said.
“That could impact companies’ results” in the second quarter, he added. Meanwhile, Twitter, which on Monday announced its purchase by Tesla founder Elon Musk, lost 3.91% to $49.68, moving away from the proposed purchase price of $54.20 per share.
If the deal goes through, Twitter will be delisted less than 10 years after listing on Wall Street. Tesla (-12.18% to 876.42 dollars) takes the confinements in China badly, and also the entry of its top leader to Twitter. AFP.