The New York Stock Exchange is moving without a clear trend on Tuesday, as a series of mixed quarterly results released in the morning are not enough to lift equity markets to new highs.

At the end of the morning, the Dow Jones is down 0.4% at 37,862.9 points, while the Nasdaq Composite is down just 0.1% at 15,372.6 points.862.9 points, while the Nasdaq Composite scratched just 0.1% at 15,372.6 points.

The start of the day was marked by a number of lacklustre corporate publications, which tended to discourage risk-taking.

Diversified industrial group 3M in particular penalized the Dow Jones, shedding more than 11% on the back of what was deemed a disappointing outlook for 2024, against a backdrop of slowing demand.

Johnson & Johnson (-2.2%) followed suit after reporting lacklustre quarterly results.

Conversely, Verizon and Procter & Gamble's publications were welcomed by investors, who saw the two stocks rise by 5.5% and 4.7% respectively in early trading.

After the recent series of record highs set on Wall Street, these contrasting performances are serving as an excuse to sell, and are weighing on market sentiment, which until now has been based on the dynamism of AI-related stocks.

The US bond market is benefiting from the reduced appetite for risk, with the yield on ten-year Treasuries rising to almost 4.15%.

On the currency markets, the dollar resumed its upward trend against the euro two days ahead of the eagerly awaited announcements by the European Central Bank (ECB), with the single currency sliding back into the 1.0840 zone against the greenback.

Crude oil prices are consolidating after the previous day's surge, with geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea not entirely eclipsing the risks of deteriorating global demand.

U.S. light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) is currently down 0.3% at $74.5.

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