Wall Street closed mixed to weaker on Monday in light post-Easter trading as investors turned their attention to what is expected to be a dismal March quarter earnings season starting tonight.
Financials lost ground with the S&P banking subsector lower ahead of reports tonight from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo with analysts forecasting a bleak outlook for the year.
Earnings for S&P 500 firms are expected to tumble 10.2% in the first quarter, compared with a start of year forecast of a 6.3% rise. Earnings are forecast to plunge another 22.4% in the second quarter with the sweeping lockdowns halting business activity and mass layoffs.
Ford jolted confidence and shares shed nearly 4% after the carmaker forecast a quarterly adjusted loss before interest and taxes of about $US600 million, compared with a profit of $2.4 billion a year earlier.
The Nasdaq rose but other major indexes trimmed losses as investors prepared for a bleak first-quarter earnings season.
The Dow slumped 328.60 points, or 1.4%, to finish at 23,390.77, while the S&P 500 dropped 28.19 points, or 1%, to close at 2,761.63. The Nasdaq positive in late trade, rising 38.85 points, or 0.5%, to end at 8,192.42, its third straight session of gains.
U.S. and European markets were closed Friday for the Good Friday holiday. European markets remained closed Monday for the Easter holiday, as did Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore in the region.
In Japan, the Nikkei slipped 2.33% on Monday to close at 19,043.40, South Korea’s Kopsi also fell, losing 1.88% to close at 1,825.76.
Mainland Chinese stocks declined on the day, with the Shanghai Composite shedding 0.49% to about 2,783.05 while the Shenzhen composite fell 0.8%.
The S&P 500 last week jumped 12.1% for its largest weekly rise since 1974, while the Dow advanced 12.7% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 10.6%.
The Aussie market will start cautiously – the overnight futures platform was closed last night. It ended pre-Easter with a 43 point gain which may give a trend for a quiet return today.
Oil though traded, the production cuts deal having little lasting impact at the moment, gold, iron ore and copper all rose, which should help local shares in these commodities today.
The Aussie dollar rose past 64 US cents and was just under that level early in Asian dealings on Tuesday.
