US market news: Wall St edges lower on renewed Fed rate angst; Tyson Foods slides
Wall Street stocks edged lower on Monday with Tyson Foods falling on disappointing quarterly results, while investors re-assessed their predictions on when the US Federal Reserve would start cutting rates.
What added to the downbeat mood were geopolitical concerns after the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had floated across the country for days.
At 10:24 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 179.60 points, or 0.53%, at 33,746.41, the S&P 500 was down 33.71 points, or 0.81%, at 4,102.77, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 125.32 points, or 1.04%, at 11,881.64.
All of the 11 major S&P 500 indexes were in the red with the real-estate sector slumping 1.5%.
The non-farm payrolls report on Friday that showed the US economy added jobs at a rapid pace spooked investors.
Among individual companies, Tyson Foods Inc slipped 5.8% on missing analysts’ estimates for quarterly revenue and profit. The food giant’s lower quarterly profits missed analyst expectations, saying that “operational inefficiencies” impacted profitability.
“This is the first time I’ve seen all markets work against us, all at the same time,” Chief Executive Officer Donnie King told analysts on a call.
Dell Technologies fell 2.6 percent after announcing that it will lay off some five percent of its global workforce, or around 6,650 employees, marking the latest casualties of a job-slashing wave hitting the US tech sector.
More than 69% of the S&P 500 firms have reported results above expectations, as per Refinitiv. Overall, analysts still expect quarterly earnings of S&P 500 firms declining 2.8%.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note, a proxy for Fed interest rate policy, climbed higher following strong employment and services sector data released Friday.
Analysts also pointed to worries over lofty equity valuations after a strong January for US stocks. Market-watchers have slashed their earnings forecasts in recent weeks due to rising cost pressures.
The market movements came despite Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s comments on ABC early today that she sees a path where inflation declines “significantly” while the economy remains strong.
Markets remain nervous as traders await a speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday, watching for his comments on the economic outlook ahead.
Traders will now await earnings reports from Walt Disney Co , PepsiCo Inc and Abbvie Inc this week.
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Ganesh
http://ganesh@finplay.inFinance enthusiast, Mutual fund expert.