US stock closed down on alarming macro statistics

At the auction on Thursday, key US indicators showed a decline against the background of negative dynamics from the tech, as well as consumer goods and services sectors. The day before, investors evaluated the reports of leading banking groups and a new batch of statistical macro data.

As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.33%, the high-tech NASDAQ Composite fell by 2.14%, and the S&P 500 broad market index sank by 1.21%.

The highest results among the Dow Jones components on Thursday were shown by the securities of Nike Inc (+4.68%), Caterpillar Inc (+4.37%) and Dow Inc (+2.07%). The list of falls here was headed by stocks Salesforce.com Inc (-3.22%), Apple Inc (-3.00%) and Intel Corporation (-2.85%).

The growth leaders among the components of the S&P 500 stock indicator were Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc (+4.57%) and Caterpillar Inc (+4.37%). The minimal results here were shown by the shares of State Street Corp (- 8.50%), W.W. Grainger Inc (- 6.77%) and Generac Holdings Inc (- 6.30%).

The main favorites among the components of the NASDAQ Composite index were Medavail Holdings Inc (+69.44%), Cumulus Media Inc Class A (+39.86%) and Apptech Corp (+35.54%). The list of declines here was led by the shares of Histogen Inc (-36.38%), Singularity Future Technology Ltd (-23.19%) and Protagonist Therapeutics Inc (-21.83%).

The value of securities of Morgan Stanley, one of the largest American banks, rose by 0.75% the day before. In the first quarter of this year, the bank's net profit decreased and revenue increased.

Shares of one of the key international financial conglomerates Citigroup Inc gained 1.56%. In the first quarter of 2022, the bank's net profit decreased by 46% and revenue by 2.4%. Despite this, both indicators were higher than the preliminary forecasts of analysts.

Goldman Sachs Group quotes fell 0.1% on Thursday. In the first quarter of this year, the bank reduced net profit and revenue, but both indicators turned out to be better than analysts' preliminary scenarios.

The capitalization of Wells Fargo & Co, one of the largest US banks, decreased by 4.5%. In the first quarter of 2022, its net profit decreased by 21% and revenue by 5.1%.

As a result, on the NYSE stock exchange, the number of securities that lost in price (2040) exceeded the number of those that increased (1562). At the same time, the indicators of 119 shares remained unchanged. On the NASDAQ stock exchange, quotations of 2,520 companies declined, 1,312 increased, and 210 closed at the level of the previous session.

The CBOE Volatility Index, formed on the basis of options trading indicators on the S&P 500, rose by 4.03% to 22.70 points.

An additional upward factor for quotes on Thursday was the latest release of the consumer sentiment index of the University of Michigan. According to the preliminary assessment of experts, the indicator increased to 65.7 points. At the same time, analysts predicted a decline to 59 points.

According to the US Department of Commerce, retail sales in the country increased by 0.5% in March compared to February. Earlier, experts predicted an increase of 0.6%. According to the revised data, retail sales increased by 0.8% in February, and not by 0.3%, as previously stated.

In a report published by the US Department of Labor, it is reported that last week the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits for the first time increased by 18,000 to 185,000 people. At the same time, analysts expected an increase in the indicator only to 170,000 -71,000. A week earlier, the number of requests was 167,000.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York, John Williams, said that an increase in the base rate of the US Federal Reserve by half a percentage point next month is a "reasonable option."

By the way, stock market participants have already begun to put the prospect of such a tough rate hike into forecasts. The last time the Fed increased the rate by half a percentage point was in May 2000.

Trading analysis offered by RobotFX and Flex EA.
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