Wall Street stocks fell on Tuesday (April 4) as financial and industrial shares retreated amid worries over slowing growth, in a session overshadowed by the historic courtroom appearance of former president Donald Trump.
All three major indices fell as data showed US job openings in February dropped to the lowest level in nearly two years, suggesting that the labour market was cooling, while factory orders fell for a second straight month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 198.77 points, or 0.59%, to 33,402.38, the S&P 500 lost 23.91 points, or 0.58%, to 4,100.60 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 63.13 points, or 0.52%, to 12,126.33.
“The number of job openings has decreased, which makes people worry that hiring is going too slow, and that will be bad for the economy. That feeds into recessionary fears,” said Sal Bruno, chief investment officer at IndexIQ in New York.
Market watchers said the media focus on Trump’s pleading in a state criminal proceeding probably crimped trading volumes but did not affect the market’s trajectory.
“While it’s historic and likely has a lot of eyeballs on it, it’s very difficult to draw a direct economic impact,” said Art Hogan, an analyst at B. Riley Financial, of the proceedings.
He pointed to a “delayed reaction” in the market after Monday’s dismal manufacturing data, weighing on industrial companies. Caterpillar, whose shares fell more than 5%, was the biggest loser in the Dow.
Financials were another underperforming sector after JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon warned the banking crisis “is not yet over” and would be felt for years to come.
Midsized banks had an ugly day, with First Republic losing 5.6%, Western Alliance dropping 3.8% and Zions Bancorporation shares slipping 4.8%.
Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers attributed some of Tuesday’s performance to a reversal after a buoyant first quarter. “It seems there is some profit-taking today after a big run into the end of the first quarter,” he said. – AFP, Reuters
