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Wall Street's Rally Slows on Uncertaint04/25 08:56
Wall Street's three-day rally is running out of momentum Friday, and U.S.
stocks are drifting in mixed trading as they near the end of another
roller-coaster week.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street's three-day rally is running out of momentum
Friday, and U.S. stocks are drifting in mixed trading as they near the end of
another roller-coaster week.
The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading, though the majority of stocks
within it were falling. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 10 points, or
less than 0.1% , as of 9:40 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was
0.3% higher.
Intel weighed on the market after the chip company said it's seeing
"elevated uncertainty across the industry" and gave a forecast for upcoming
revenue and profit that fell short of analysts' expectations. Its stock fell
7.6% even though its results for the beginning of the year topped expectations.
Eastman Chemical fell 4.3% after it gave a forecast for profit this spring
that fell short of analysts' expectations. CEO Mark Costa said that the
"macroeconomic uncertainty that defined the last several years has only
increased" and that future demand for its products "is unclear given the
magnitude and scope of tariffs."
They're the latest companies to say the uncertainty created by President
Donald Trump's trade war is making it difficult to give financial forecasts for
the upcoming year.
Stocks had rallied earlier in the week on signals that Trump may be
softening his approach on tariffs and his criticism of the Federal Reserve,
which had earlier shaken markets. The hope is that if Trump can roll back some
of his stiff tariffs, he could avert a recession that many investors see as
otherwise likely.
But Trump's on-again-off-again tariffs may nevertheless be pushing
households and businesses to freeze plans on spending and long-term investment
because of how quickly conditions can change, sometimes seemingly by the hour.
Skechers U.S.A., the shoe and apparel company, pulled its financial
forecasts for the year due to "macroeconomic uncertainty stemming from global
trade policies," for example. That was even though it just reported a record
quarter of revenue at $2.41 billion. Its stock fell 3.4%.
Helping to keep Wall Street's losses in check was Alphabet, which rose 3.1%.
Google's parent company reported late Thursday that its profit soared 50% in
the first quarter.
Alphabet is one of the biggest U.S. companies on Wall Street in terms of
size, and that gives movements for its stock extra heft on the S&P 500 and
other indexes. It was the strongest single force pushing upward on the S&P 500
and the main reason the index was holding steady.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly across much of Europe
following more mixed movements in Asia. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9%, but
stocks in Shanghai slipped 0.1%.
In the bond market, Treasury yields were easing ahead of a report on
sentiment among U.S. consumers. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.28%
from 4.32% late Thursday. It's been easing since approaching 4.50% earlier this
month in a surprising rise that had suggested investors worldwide may be losing
faith in the U.S. bond market's reputation as a safe place to park cash.
The U.S. dollar also strengthened against the euro and other rival
currencies after its unexpected dip earlier this month rattled investors.
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