US markets end mostly lower on Tuesday

28 Apr 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday as many traders stuck to the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision. The Fed is widely expected to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy, but traders will be paying close attention to any changes to the accompanying statement that may signal a shift in the near future. A mixed reaction to the latest earnings news also contributed to the lackluster performance, with several big-name companies also reporting their quarterly results after the close of trading. Shares of Tesla moved sharply lower even though the electric car maker reported better than expected first quarter results. Conglomerates General Electric and 3M also moved to the downside despite reporting first quarter earnings that beat expectations.

On the economic data front, reflecting a significant improvement in consumers' assessment of current conditions, the Conference Board released a report showing US consumer confidence reached its highest level since February of 2020 in the month of April. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index jumped to 121.7 in April after spiking to a revised 109.0 in March. Street had expected the consumer confidence index to rise to 112.0 from the 109.7 originally reported for the previous month. The much bigger than expected increase by the headline index came as the present situation index soared to 139.6 in April from 110.1 in March. The percentage of consumers claiming business conditions are good rose to 23.3 percent from 18.3 percent, while the percentage claiming conditions are 'bad' fell to 24.8 percent from 30.1 percent.

Nasdaq fell 48.56 points or 0.34 percent to 14,090.22 and S&P 500 was down by 0.9 points or 0.02 percent to 4,186.72, while Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3.36 points or 0.01 percent to 33,984.93.

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