NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – The US stock exchanges are not going any further after the records reached the day before. On Tuesday the momentum had already been lost, on Wednesday the New York stock barometer was mostly downhill. The Dow Jones Industrial did better, however, with a slight increase of 0.14 percent to 31,567.92 points, it was the positive exception most recently. His record of just over 31,600 points thus remains easily within reach.
A central topic on Wednesday remained the development of the bond market, which has recently become an indicator of investors’ fears of rising inflation. US producer prices continued to make a significantly stronger contribution than expected. If yields rise with price expectations, bonds become more attractive compared to stocks. According to market observer Craig Erlam from broker Oanda, investors are therefore staying vigilant. He fears a sentiment damper should yields begin to rise too quickly.
Against this background, the market-wide S&P 500 fell by 0.21 percent to 3924.51 meters. For the technology-heavy selection index Nasdaq 100 it even went down by 0.71 percent to 13,676.49 points.
At the Dow, the pressure has been eased primarily by two stocks that have piqued the interest of investor legend Warren Buffett. Papers of the oil company Chevron and the telecom provider Verizon rose at the top of the Dow by 2.3 and 4.8 percent, respectively. It was previously announced that Buffett’s investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway has recently relied on the two stocks.
Instead, Berkshire has reduced its exposure to Apple. The iPhone manufacturer’s papers then lost 1.9 percent, thus setting the trend in the tech industry in a negative direction. Investors took it as a seminal signal that Buffett is switching to defaults like Chevron and Verizon.
Wells Fargo caused a stir with a price jump of 4.1 percent. The market said the financial institution was making progress in talks with the US Federal Reserve about imposed restrictions. It should be about plans to improve internal risk management and corporate governance.
Otherwise, quarterly figures and outlooks for some companies from the second row received attention. The car rental company Avis Budget surprised with higher-than-expected net sales in the fourth quarter, but shares still plummeted six percent. According to stockbrokers, this was due to the fact that the company does not trust itself to be able to forecast the year in the corona crisis.
The insurer AIG reported a declining adjusted surplus in the past quarter, which started the shares in the red. But investors then suddenly took hold of them, turning up 1.2 percent. It was also announced that AIG had received inquiries from interested parties to participate in the life and retirement insurance business.
In the generally weaker technology sector, there were also positive sector exceptions, such as the 2.5 percent higher paper from Agilent. The company specializing in measurement technology impressed with a strong outlook. Bank of America reacted promptly and now recommends buying the stock.
Palantir shares bounced back after falling the previous day. They rose 4.5 percent after Goldman Sachs immediately recommended the shares for purchase. Analyst Christopher Merwin was encouraged on Wednesday that the management of the data analytics software specialist is targeting sales of $ 4 billion in 2025./tih/he
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