NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – In the course movements on Wall Street, the gap widens on Wednesday. As on the previous day, the technology stocks concentrated on the Nasdaq performed slightly better than the standard stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial (Dow Jones 30 Industrial).
Wall Street’s leading index fell 0.10 percent to 34,055.63 points two hours before the end, while the NASDAQ 100 made it into the plus after a weak start as on Tuesday. The technology-heavy index gained 0.34 percent to 12,633.93 points. The market-wide S&P 500 moved at 4136.66 points as well as the previous day’s level.
As recently, investors found it difficult to draw clear conclusions from current economic data. The day before this had already failed after the latest inflation numbers and now the same has happened with strong retail data. Although these eased worries about a possible recession, they also fueled fears of further rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve to curb high inflation.
Added to this was US industrial production, which was only reported to have stagnated in January. “On the one hand, the data with the strong US retail sales also published today, yesterday’s US inflation data and the last US labor market report speak for another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve on March 23,” emphasized Bernd Krampen from NordLB. On the other hand, it is becoming apparent that the growth prospects do not allow any further interest rate hikes.
In the course of the reporting season, the accommodation broker Airbnb in particular convinced investors with its numbers, which surprised positively. They sent the price jumping 13 percent to its highest level since May 2022. In the last quarter, the company benefited from the return of international and city trips after the corona pandemic with profit and sales increases.
The travel booking platform TripAdvisor, which also exceeded sales expectations, was more moderate. Here, the papers posted an increase of 1.7 percent. The Bernstein analyst Richard Clarke described the margin outlook for 2023 as rather weak.
The oil and gas group Devon Energy was particularly disappointing in terms of earnings and planned investments, which caused the share price to fall by 11.6 percent.
Another loser was Biogen, down nearly 4 percent. The biotech company’s quarterly results were convincing, but it expects sales to fall in 2023.
Against the background of falling oil prices, the corresponding stocks came under pressure. Chevron and ConocoPhillips shares are down almost 2 percent each, and ExxonMobil’s shares are down almost 1 percent. Market observers pointed to rising US oil reserves as a drag on oil prices./tih/he