The New York Stock Exchange was hesitant on Tuesday, as reassuring results from Goldman Sachs failed to fully outweigh worries about the economy following a worrying indicator.

In late morning trading, the Dow Jones fell by 0.3% to 37,481 points, while the Nasdaq Composite nibbled at 0.1% to 14,985.3 points.985.3 points.

The mixed results published this morning by two major banking groups, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, did nothing to boost the stock market.

Goldman Sachs managed to gain 1.8% on the back of better-than-expected earnings, boosted by a solid performance in asset management, which benefited from substantial investment gains.

Conversely, Morgan Stanley lost 3.7% after releasing quarterly accounts burdened by provisions, despite a better-than-expected performance in investment banking.

As a result of these contrasting performances, the financial sector sub-index fell by 0.6%.

Overall, eight of the eleven major S&P 500 sectors were in the red, with energy (-1.7%) and industrials (-0.7%) posting the biggest declines.

Boeing, the Dow Jones' biggest decliner, dropped a further 7% as analysts worried about the impact of increased FAA controls on the aircraft manufacturer's production and delivery targets.

Another cause for concern on the economic front, the 'Empire State' index sank further into the red zone in January, to -43.7, its lowest since May 2020, compared with -14.5 the previous month.

Not since the pandemic has the index been so weak", worry analysts at Commerzbank.

"This is certainly not a good sign", they continue, pointing out that this bout of weakness will have to be confirmed by other activity indicators, such as the Philly Fed or the ISM manufacturing index.

On the bond front, the yield on 10-year Treasuries continued to yo-yo around the 4% mark, dropping back to 3.99% after this statistic, which reinforces the scenario of further rate cuts.

The dollar continues to gain ground against the euro, which is back around 1.0885, betraying growing risk aversion and renewed interest in the greenback as a safe haven.

On the oil market, crude oil prices are consolidating further after last week's rally, with US light crude now down 1.8% at $71.8.

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