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Stock Market News for Apr 25, 2024

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U.S. stocks ended mixed on Wednesday in choppy trading as interest rate fears and a rise in Treasury yields weighed on the enthusiasm surrounding earnings from a spate of big companies. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq managed to end in the green, but the Dow closed in negative territory.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.1% or 42.77 points to close at 38,460.92 points, recording its first decline in the past five sessions.

The S&P 500 rose just about 1 point, to end at 5,071.63 points, registering its highest close since Apr 12. Consumer discretionary, consumer staples and tech stocks were the biggest gainers.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) gained 0.5%, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) advanced 1%. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) rose 0.8%. Eight of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.1% or 16.11 points to finish at 15,712.75 points, recording its highest close since Apr 16.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 1.78% to 15.97. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.33-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.22-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 10.2 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.07 billion.

Higher Treasury Yields, Interest Rate Concerns Weigh on Stocks

Markets turned volatile on Wednesday after rallying in the previous two sessions following last week’s selloff. On Wednesday, Treasury yields rose putting pressure on stocks. The jump was driven by a massive $70 billion worth of auction of five-year Treasury notes.

The two-year Treasury yield rose above 4.95%, while the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.67%. Higher Treasury yields weighed on stocks.

Also, concerns over higher interest rates and uncertainty over the timing of the first interest rate cut continued to make investors jittery, which turned markets volatile again.

Q1 Earnings Gathers Pace

The earnings season is in full swing with a slate of corporate results announced on Wednesday. Among the major companies that came up with quarterly results, Tesla, Inc. ((TSLA - Free Report) ) reported disappointing first-quarter 2024 results, missing both earnings and revenue estimates.

The EV maker reported first-quarter 2024 earnings of $0.45 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.46 per share.
However, Tesla’s shares rallied 12.1% as the company announced that it would accelerate the launch of more affordable vehicles, which could come in early 2025.

The Boeing Company ((BA - Free Report) ) also reported a massive loss. The company reported first-quarter 2024 loss of $1.13 per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.43 per share. Its shares fell 2.9%.

Shares of Biogen Inc. ((BIIB - Free Report) ) rose 4.6% after the company reported first-quarter 2024 earnings of $3.67 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.45 per share. Biogen has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Investors are looking forward to tech bigwigs like Microsoft Corporation ((MSFT - Free Report) ) and Alphabet, Inc. ((GOOGL - Free Report) ) which are set to report quarterly results later this week.

Economic Data

In economic data released on Wednesday, durable goods orders increased 2.6%, which was in line with the consensus estimate.

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