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NEW YORK – US equities have changed little on Thursday morning as the recent market rally is running out of steam. Health care and communications companies are growing slightly as banks and technology companies shrink. Morgan Stanley fell after its fourth quarter results were below Wall Street expectations, while the CSX rail operator dropped after forecasting lower revenue growth in 2019.
KEEP THE SCORE: The S & P 500 index remained at 2,615 at 10:15 am ET. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index slid 37 points, or 0.2%, to 24,170 points. The Nasdaq composite gained 5 points, or 0.1%, at 7,040. The Russell 2000 stock index of smaller companies added 3 points, or 0.2%, to 1,458.
BANKS CLANK: Morgan Stanley slipped 6.1% to $ 41.79 after earnings and earnings disappoint badysts. Like many other large financial companies, Morgan Stanley has been hit hard by trading difficulties during the volatile fourth quarter. While Morgan Stanley traders are considered some of the best in the industry, their stock trading revenues remained unchanged in the last three months of the year and bond trading revenues dropped by 30%. The S & P 500 lost 14% in the last quarter of the year.
Other banks also traded lower. KeyCorp lost 4.4% to $ 16.02 after underperforming earnings. M & T Bank broke through and its shares rose 3.5% to $ 159.87.
The CSX railway company fell 2.6% to $ 63.68 after announcing that its revenue would rise to less than 20% in 2019. Its revenue grew 7% last year.
US-CHINA TENSIONS: Trade between the United States and China remained a major concern for investors. Late Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal announced that US prosecutors were investigating the Chinese technology giant Huawei about a possible theft of trade secrets by T-Mobile and other US companies. Intellectual property rights and the theft of trade secrets are a central issue in the trade dispute, and criminal prosecution could further exacerbate trade tensions. On Thursday, the Chinese government announced that the two countries' top trade representatives would meet in Washington later this month, a sign of progress in resolving their dispute.
TARNISHED: Signet Jewelers plunged 22.3% to 25.93 USD after stating that the holiday season had been tough and had reduced its annual forecast. The company said competition intensified in December and sales of some key products were weak. The company also said that fewer customers came to its stores last month.
A series of large luxury retailers, including department stores like Macy's, reported having struggled during the holidays even as consumer confidence was high and workers' wages increased. The sharp losses suffered by the stock market in December seem to have made some consumers reluctant to splurge.
HARD DRIVES: Western Digital lost $ 35.42 to 6.4% and Seagate lost 3.2% to $ 38.44 as digital storage companies collapsed.
FOREIGN: The British FTSE lost 0.5% and the French CAC 40 lost 0.4%. The German DAX plunged 0.3%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.5% and Japan's Nikkei 225, down 0.2%. Kospi of South Korea added 0.1 percent.
BONDS: Bond prices have gone down. The yield on the 10-year Treasury Note rose from 2.73% to 2.74%.
ENERGY: US benchmark crude oil fell 1.8% to 51.37 dollars a barrel in New York, while Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.4% to 60.49 dollars a barrel in London.
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