NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – After the long weekend due to the holiday, the US stock markets started the shortened trading week without a clear direction. The Dow Jones Industrial (Dow Jones 30 Industrial) fell 0.35 percent to 37,459.69 points in early trading on Tuesday. The market-wide S&P 500 fell by 0.06 percent to 4780.88 points. In contrast, the technology-heavy NASDAQ 100 rose by 0.36 percent to 16,894.31 points.
The focus is on the first Republican primary for the party’s presidential candidacy in the state of Iowa, which the former president Donald Trump clearly won. However, the interest rate issue still dominates the agenda, which is why investors are paying increased attention to fresh US economic data.
The Empire State Index for January published by the US Federal Reserve Bank, which measures manufacturing activity in New York State, was significantly worse than expected. Although this is fueling economic concerns, it is also raising hopes that the Fed may soon cut interest rates. Further statements from Fed official Christopher Waller are expected.
Eyes are also turning to the quarterly figures of other US banks after the first financial institutions started the reporting season for the final quarter of 2023 on Friday with mixed key figures and outlooks. Goldman Sachs exceeded market expectations both in terms of earnings and earnings, while Morgan Stanley disappointed. Goldman shares rose 1.7 percent, while Morgan Stanley shares lost 3.7 percent.
Apple shares lost 1.1 percent. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from the tech giant to consider an appeal in an antitrust case challenging the company’s lucrative app store. The decision puts into effect an appeals court ruling that allows developers to steer iPhone users to cheaper purchasing options outside of Apple’s system.
Microsoft (Microsoft) is pushing ahead with its AI offensive, which gave the shares of the world’s largest software manufacturer a price increase of 1.0 percent. Microsoft is making its “Copilot” assistant available to consumers in products and has entered into a ten-year strategic partnership with the British telecommunications group Vodafone (Vodafone Group) for applications based on artificial intelligence (AI).
Among the smaller stocks, Applied Digital (Applied Blockchain) stocks fell by more than 22 percent. The provider of data center services missed market expectations with its figures for the second quarter./edh/he