Stock Market Today: Dow falls as energy stocks weigh; big tech earnings eyed

This post was originally published on this site

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% or 190 points, the Nasdaq rose 0.3%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.1%.

Treasury yields slipped following their recent multi-year highs, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury falling to 4.854% after rising to a 16-year high of 5.025%.

The surge in longer-term Treasury yields have been driven by several factors including stronger-than-expected economic growth and stubborn inflation as well as a jump in supply as the U.S. Treasury steps up the pace of borrowing.

The move comes just over a week ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee two- day meeting slated for Oct. 31. The Fed is expected to keep rates steady next month.

Tech stocks started the week on the front foot as investors look ahead to big tech earnings, with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) set to report September quarter results on Tuesday.

Alphabet climbed despite fresh regulatory concerns after the Japanese Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation for alleged antitrust violations concerning whether the company shared ad-revenue with android phone makers in return for pre-installing Google’s apps including its search engine rather than rival apps.   

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) report results on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) fell more than 3%, weighing on the broader energy sector after the oil and gas giant agreed to buy Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) for $53 billion.

The deal is expected to strengthen Chevron’s assets in Guyana and boost its overall oil and gas output.

As well as the decline in Chevron, sentiment on energy stocks were also pressured by a 2% fall in oil prices despite the ongoing concerns about possible oil supply disruptions amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Bitcoin jumped more than 5% topping $31,000 amid growing optimism that a spot-Bitcoin exchange traded fund, or ETF, is drawing closer.

Several firms including Blackrock, Graysclae, and Fidelity have filed applications for a spot-Bitcoin ETF.

The prospect of a Bitcoin ETF gathered pace recently after a judge ruled that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had no legal right to reject Grayscale’s plan to convert its GBTC bitcoin fund into an ETF.   

Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MARA), Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) and MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) racked up gains on the day.