US stocks give up gains to end lower on investor caution
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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks shed earlier gains to end lower on Tuesday, with investors still wary of a recession and further interest rate hikes to come.
Despite a bounce at the start of the trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat at 33,136.37.
The broad-based S&P 500 slumped 0.4 per cent to 3,824.14, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.8 per cent to 10,386.98.
“US stocks were unable to hold onto earlier gains as restrictive policy and recession fears remained front and center for investors,” said Edward Moya of the OANDA trading platform.
International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva has warned that a third of the world economy could be in recession this year.
Meanwhile, economists caution that the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy response to rein in inflation could tip the world’s biggest economy into a downturn.
While discount buying triggered another “bear market rebound” on Tuesday, this did not last long, Mr Moya said.
“It is too early to start betting on a Fed pivot this year and that should make this a difficult environment for stocks,” he added.
Among individual companies, Tesla fell 12.2 per cent on Tuesday after missing its delivery target, while Apple also dropped 3.7 per cent.
For now, markets are awaiting minutes from the most recent Fed policymakers’ meeting – to be released Wednesday – and key jobs data due on Friday. AFP
