US: Wall Street mixed amid earnings flood, Federal Reserve meeting

[NEW YORK] US equities were mostly flat on Tuesday while tech shares dropped amid a flurry of quarterly earnings and ahead of the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting.

While corporate earnings have mostly been strong as the US vaccination campaign and economic reopening have boosted consumer confidence to its highest level since before the pandemic, analysts say rising Covid-19 cases worldwide are worrying investors.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average closed essentially unchanged at 33,984.93, as did the broad-based S&P 500, which shed less than a point from Monday's record to end at 4,186.72.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.3 per cent to 14,090.22.

Markets were digesting quarterly reports from companies like General Electric, UPS and Dow-member 3M, and awaiting big tech names including Google-parent Alphabet, which reported after the closing bell.

Karl Haeling of LBBW said that as investors await those earnings reports, "There is a tendency, particularly for tech stocks, that the market trades... and then they kind of sell off no matter what the earnings are.

He noted that markets also are watching the Fed decision Wednesday for any shift in its views on the economy and inflation. A spike in copper prices to its highest level in decades "is reminding people about inflation pressures," Mr Haeling said.

President Joe Biden will also on Wednesday address Congress and unveil a plan to hike the capital gains tax for those making more than US$1 million per-year to pay for child care and free community college.

Among individual stocks, UPS jumped 10.4 per cent following a 27 per cent surge in quarterly revenues to US$22.9 billion on higher e-commerce deliveries.

3M fell 2.6 per cent after earnings beat expectations, but the company warned of higher costs due to supply chain disruptions.

General Electric fell 0.6 per cent after reporting a US$2.9 billion loss on lower revenues in key divisions, including power and aviation.

AFP