U.S. stocks fell Monday midday, as investors awaited a locked and loaded earnings calendar with heavyweights reporting in every sector.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) edged down by 0.13%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) down by 0.16%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell by 0.82% at 12:00pm ET.
Government bonds fell. The yield on the 10-year note slid to 3.519%, while rate-sensitive two-year note yields also declined to 4.169% Monday morning.
This week will bring a flood of earnings including several big tech companies — Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), Amazon (AMZN), and Alphabet (GOOGL) — whose shares have pushed the S&P to rally so far this year.
Wall Street has been worried about a so-called earnings recession, with investors expecting a second-straight quarter of decline in profits from US companies. That has some strategists questioning if this year’s market rally will run out of steam.
So far, earnings season is off to a solid start, as about 68% have reported a beat on EPS so far, down from a record 90% last week, according to a note from Bank of America.
Big bank earnings are in the rear view. But some regional lenders are still on tap, including First Republic Bank (FRC) reporting after the bell on Monday.
Meanwhile, Credit Suisse Group AG (CS) reported Monday its last-ever quarterly results. Even after UBS (UBS) agreed to buy out the ailing bank in March, Credit Suisse depositors withdrew nearly $75 billion.
Still, Wall Street remains concerned that the US economy will spiral into a recession as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to cool inflation. Investors will be closely watching the first reading of Q1 GDP, out Thursday. Economists expect a 2.2% print, compared to a 2.6% in the last quarter of 2022.
“It’s getting harder to find an economic indicator that’s saying the economy isn’t already in a recession right now let alone on the verge of one,” the team at Bespoke Investment Group wrote in a note on April 21.
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Other economic releases this week include consumer confidence, new home sales, durable goods…
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