- Dow Jones lost 1.32% on Friday as stocks remained negative.
- Prices were little affected by the latest US economic data.
- Amazon’s shares fell 12.4% as the online retailer’s operating profit declined 58%.
At 33,468 points, the INDEXDJX: .DJI fell 1.32% in early trade. Accordingly, the US leading index gained around 0.8 percent during the week. Overall, the S&P 500 lost 1.53% to 4222.01 points on Friday. The Nasdaq 100 tech index fell 1.73% to 13,222.78.
In early trading on Friday, US stock markets were down slightly. Recently improved investor sentiment has been dampened by disappointing quarterly reports from some technology groups.
After recovering the evening significantly before, the leading indices and weekly balance moved slightly upwards. According to the market expert Jim Reid from Deutsche Bank, the volatility in stock markets remains high. According to him, a recent strong US dollar, falling European bond prices, and rising oil prices are also contributing to heightened uncertainty.
Prices were little affected by the latest US economic data. In April, US consumer sentiment did not improve as much as anticipated. The University of Michigan consumer climate survey increased 5.8 points from February to 65.2 in March. However, US consumer spending increased significantly in March. In the first quarter, the labor cost index increased by 1.4 percent.
Reid said that investors are concerned about consumer spending following Amazon’s disappointing earnings report. Amazon’s shares fell 12.4% as the online retailer’s operating profit declined 58%. In addition, analysts viewed the current quarter as negative as well. As a result, analysts gradually lowered price targets to anticipate a better second half, but most did not want to hype the news.
Other tech giants like Apple and Intel also fell on disappointing prospects, falling by 0.3% and 6.4%. However, in its latest quarterly report, Apple warned of stronger headwinds. This quarter, the Shanghai lockdown could cost Apple as much as $8 billion in revenue. In addition, the PC market is shrinking, and Intel’s sales are falling has proven to be a burden.
The stock market also experienced a downward trend following Friday’s earnings announcements outside the technology sector. Even as oil prices rose, shares of Chevron fell 2.2 percent. ExxonMobil’s performance was minus 0.4 percent.
Shares of Colgate-Palmolive fell 5.7%. The consumer goods manufacturer struggled during the first quarter due to high raw material and transportation costs. However, on top of higher sales and earnings forecasts, Honeywell gained 3.5 percent, setting a positive exception.
Dow Jones technical analysis:
The Dow Jones index could not hold onto yesterday’s gains and started falling. The index is heading towards the swing lows. The probability of breaking the previous lows remains high.
