US markets end in red on Tuesday

01 Mar 2023 Evaluate

The US markets ended in red on Tuesday as traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates. Traders were keeping an eye on reports on weekly jobless claims and manufacturing and service sector activity, which will be released in coming days. The data could shed additional light on the strength of the economy and provide further clues about how much the Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates. On the sectoral front, Oil stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Oil Index down by 1.8 percent. The weakness in the sector came despite a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, as crude for April delivery surged $1.37 or 1.8 percent to $77.05 a barrel. Natural gas and pharmaceutical stocks also saw notable weakness, while steel and gold stocks moved to the upside on the day.

On the economic data front, MNI Indicators released a report showing Chicago-area business activity unexpectedly contracted at a slightly faster rate in the month of February. MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer edged down to 43.6 in February from 44.3 in January, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction. Street had expected the Chicago business barometer to inch up to 45.0. A separate report released by the Conference Board showed U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly decreased for the second consecutive month in February. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slid to 102.9 in February from a downwardly revised 106.0 in January. The continued decrease surprised participants, who had expected the consumer confidence index to inch up to 108.5 from the 107.1 originally reported for the previous month.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 232.39 points or 0.71 percent to 32,656.7, Nasdaq dropped 11.44 points or 0.1 percent to 11,455.54 and S&P 500 was down by 12.09 points or 0.3 percent to 3,970.15.

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