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<\/a><\/p>\nBy Stephen Culp<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Nasdaq rose and the dollar weakened on Wednesday as investors weighed solid company earnings against weaker-than-expected economic data and ongoing wrangling in Washington over raising the debt ceiling.<\/p>\n
While surging tech shares helped the Nasdaq hold positive territory, the S&P 500 and the Dow were weighed down by weakness in economically-sensitive sectors such as industrials and transports, hinting at mounting recession jitters.<\/p>\n
The transports index, widely viewed as a barometer of economic health, is on track for its largest two-day drop in about 11 months.<\/p>\n
\n(Graphic: Leading economic index and Dow Transports – https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/graphics\/USA-STOCKS\/gkvlwaaybpb\/leadingtransports.png)<\/p>\n
\n“Markets are pretty quiet from a news standpoint, the data this morning wasn\u2019t tremendously impactful,” said Sal Bruno, chief investment officer at IndexIQ in New York. “(Recession) is still out there as a pretty significant risk, but handicapping the timing of it is difficult.”<\/p>\n
Upbeat earnings from Microsoft, Alphabet Inc and Boeing Co took the sting out of some disappointing economic data, which suggested weakening corporate expenditures on core capital goods.<\/p>\n
\n(Graphic: Core capital goods – https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/graphics\/USA-STOCKS\/egpbyqqqyvq\/corecap.png)<\/p>\n
\n“Most companies are beating estimates, but that bar has been set pretty low,” Bruno added. “But many (companies) are also talking down forward expectations on the potential of a recession happening in the back half of 2023.”<\/p>\n
Ongoing congressional wrangling over raising the federal debt ceiling also added to investor anxieties.<\/p>\n
“The debt ceiling represents a potential event risk which would be negative for capital markets,” said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bancorp in Helena, Montana. <\/p>\n
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 216.78 points, or 0.65%, to 33,314.05, the S&P 500 lost 14.96 points, or 0.37%, to 4,056.67 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 66.27 points, or 0.56%, to 11,865.43.<\/p>\n
European stocks closed lower, dragged down by healthcare stocks after the European Union published its much anticipated proposed overhauls of EU’s pharmaceuticals industry.<\/p>\n
The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.83% and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.30%.<\/p>\n
Emerging market stocks rose 0.23%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.14% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.71%.<\/p>\n
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields rose while yields on one-month bills tumbled ahead of a possible vote on the U.S. debt ceiling.<\/p>\n
Benchmark 10-year notes fell 8\/32 in price to yield 3.4277%, from 3.398% late on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The 30-year bond fell 19\/32 in price to yield 3.6856%, from 3.652% late on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The greenback softened against a basket of major world currencies on signs of an economic slowdown following weak economic data, and as debate over raising the debt limit continued in Washington.<\/p>\n
The dollar index fell 0.35%, with the euro up 0.57% to $1.1034.<\/p>\n
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.12% 133.56 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.2454, up 0.37% on the day.<\/p>\n
Crude prices extended their losses as fears of an economic downturn outweighed a larger-than-expected drawdown of U.S. oil inventories.<\/p>\n
U.S. crude plunged 3.59% to settle at $74.30 per barrel, while Brent settled at $77.69 per barrel, down 3.81% on the day.<\/p>\n
Gold prices pulled back from the key $2,000 per ounce level amid ongoing turmoil surrounding the U.S. banking sector.<\/p>\n
Spot gold was last down 0.08% at $1,987.07 an ounce. <\/p>\n
\n(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Nick Zieminski)<\/p>\n
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