NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – Disappointing quarterly reports from large tech companies slowed down the recently improved mood among stock investors on Friday. While the prices of Intel, Apple and above all Amazon slipped before the market, the Nasdaq 100 selection index, which is characterized by the tech industry an hour before the start of the stock exchange, 1.3 percent lower to 13,282 points. The Dow Jones Industrial 
broker IG saw 0.4 percent lower at 33,777 points.
The day before, the two New York indices had recovered significantly and the weekly balance sheet had been pimped up a bit. The volatility on the stock exchanges remains elevated, said Jim Reid of Deutsche Bank. In addition to the disappointing tech quarterly reports, he referred to falling European bond prices, the recently strengthened US dollar and rising oil prices as an expression of increased uncertainty. With an EU oil embargo approaching, the latter is once again an expression of the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe.
A disappointing earnings report from Amazon has investors growing concerned about consumer spending, Reid said. Amazon shares fell 10 percent premarket to $2,605 as high costs caused the online retailer’s operating profit to plummet 58 percent. The outlook for the current quarter was also considered a burden. Analysts lowered their price targets one after another, but many of them did not want to overstate the news in anticipation of a better second half of the year.
Other tech giants such as Apple and Intel also lost 1.1 and 4.3 percent respectively due to disappointing prospects. The iPhone manufacturer Apple exceeded expectations with its quarterly report, but warned of stronger headwinds. Apple could lose up to $8 billion in sales in the current quarter, mainly because of lockdowns in Shanghai. At the processor manufacturer Intel, it was considered a burden that sales are falling together with the shrinking PC market.
Outside the tech sector, too, there were increasingly negative price reactions after quarterly reports on Friday. The shares of the oil company Chevron were traded almost one percent lower despite the rising oil prices. The competitor ExxonMobil also had a pre-market minus of 0.6 percent. Both stocks were no longer helped by the fact that the oil companies had benefited from the high oil price in the first quarter.
At Colgate-Palmolive, on the other hand, there was a very significant discount of 5.4 percent before the market. High costs for raw materials and transport made things difficult for the consumer goods manufacturer in the first quarter. Honeywell shares, listed on the Dow, are meanwhile a positive exception with a rise of 2.3 percent before the market due to an increased sales and profit outlook.
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