Stocks Drift on Earnings as US-China Hopes Falter
Wall Street investors weighing the impacts of President Donald Trump’s trade war on Corporate America sent stocks churning as hopes for a quick resolution of the US-China spat ebbed.
Following a two-day rally, the S&P 500 fluctuated as Beijing maintained a defiant stance over tariffs, dismissing speculation that progress has been made in negotiations. Bonds climbed and the dollar fell.
“Until we see meaningful resolution on the tariff front, it may well be the case that markets remain in a choppy environment with larger-than-usual swings,” said Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and Forex.com.
As the earnings season rolled in, analysts are souring on the profit outlook due to the risk of an economic slowdown, with the US benchmark’s earnings revisions breadth — or estimated upgrades versus downgrades — approaching downside extremes.
One of Wall Street’s biggest bulls is throwing in the towel on expectations for large gains this year, seeing tariffs hitting US companies the hardest.
Deutsche Bank AG strategists led by Bankim Chadha slashed their year-end S&P 500 target by 12% to 6,150. They also see earnings declining 5% this year, compared with a consensus expecting 8% growth.
The S&P 500 was little changed as of 9:31 a.m. New York time
The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%
Source : Bloomberg
