U.S. stocks on Tuesday were lower on the last day of April, dragged down by some disappointing earnings reports and economic data. Market participants were also being cautious a day ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy decision.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) slipped 1.05% to 15,814.72 points in mid-day trade, while the benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) retreated 1.01% to 5,064.47 points. The blue-chip Dow (DJI) fell 1.02% to 37,992.95 points.
All 11 S&P sectors were in the red.
GE HealthCare (GEHC) slumped and was the top percentage losers on both the Nasdaq (COMP:IND) and the S&P 500 (SP500). The medical device maker’s top and bottom line was affected by a fall in its product volumes.
McDonald’s (MCD) stock was under pressure after the world’s largest fast-food chain delivered a rare miss on quarterly global comparable sales growth. Moreover, top boss Chris Kempczinski noted that consumers were being “more discriminating with every dollar that they spend.”
Coca-Cola (KO) was marginally lower despite smashing quarterly organic sales growth expectations. The snacks and soft drinks behemoth saw some impairment charges hit its operating income and margin.
All eyes are on “Magnificent 7” club member Amazon.com’s (AMZN) report after the closing bell.
Aside from earnings, economic data also played a part in denting sentiment on Tuesday. Before the opening bell, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said the employment cost index (ECI) for Q1 2024 rose 1.2%, above the consensus figure and Q4 2023’s reading of +0.9%. The ECI measures the change in the hourly labor cost to employers over time, thus detailing the growth of total employee compensation.
“On balance, today’s ECI reading is not the end of the world for the FOMC, but it is yet another data point that suggests the inflation slowdown that began this time last year stalled out in the first quarter of 2024. We expect the FOMC to hold the federal funds rate steady at its next few meetings, leaving plenty of time to ascertain whether the Q1 data is a bump in the road or a canary in the coal mine,” Wells Fargo’s Sarah House said.
That report was followed by Institute for Supply Management data that showed business activity in the Chicago area tumbling to 37.2 in April from 41.4 in March. Finally, the Conference Board’s reading of consumer confidence deteriorated for the third straight month in April.
Bespoke Investment Group summed it up succinctly on X (formerly Twitter) – “Not a great morning for economic data if you are a bull: Employment Cost Index: Highest since Q1 2023; Chicago PMI: Weakest since November 2022; Consumer Confidence: Weakest since July 2022.”
Coming a day ahead of the Fed’s rate decision, the data further reinforced just how much Wall Street’s expectations of rate cuts have been dented in April.
April is also shaping up to be the first negative month for U.S. stocks since October 2023. The S&P (SP500) is on track for monthly losses of 3.51%, while the Nasdaq (COMP:IND) is down 3.45% and the Dow (DJI) is down 4.56%.
Turning to the fixed-income markets, Treasury yields were largely to the topside. The longer-end 30-year yield (US30Y) was up 4 basis points to 4.78%, while the 10-year yield (US10Y) was up 6 basis points to 4.67%. The shorter-end more rate-sensitive 2-year yield (US2Y) was up 3 basis points to 5.02%.
See live data on how Treasury yields are doing across the curve at the Seeking Alpha bond page.
Looking at stock movers not related to earnings, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) was among the top percentage losers on both the S&P (SP500) and the Nasdaq (COMP:IND) after a report that Comcast’s (CMCSA) NBCUniversal had pitched a higher offer for NBA TV rights to edge out Warner’s (WBD) TNT.
Walmart (WMT) was down after the retail giant said it was closing its virtual health service and all 51 of its health centers, citing a lack of profitability.
