The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 228.96 points, or 0.68%, to 33,301.87, the S&P 500 lost 15.64 points, or 0.38%, to 4,055.99 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 55.19 points, or 0.47% to 11,584.35. European stocks closed lower, dragged down by healthcare stocks after the European Union published its much anticipated proposed overhauls of EU's pharmaceuticals industry. The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.83% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.33%. Emerging market stocks rose 0.19%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.14% higher, while Japan's Nikkei lost 0.71%. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields rose while yields on one-month bills tumbled ahead of a possible vote on the U.S. debt ceiling. Benchmark 10-year notes fell 11/32 in price to yield 3.4391%, from 3.398% late on Tuesday. The 30-year bond fell 28/32 in price to yield 3.7013%, from 3.652% late on Tuesday. 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. The dollar index fell 0.37%, with the euro up 0.58% to $1.1036. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.08% 133.63 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.2462, up 0.44% on the day. Crude prices extended their losses as fears of an economic downturn outweighed a larger-than-expected drawdown of U.S. oil inventories. 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. Gold prices pulled back from the key $2,000 per ounce level amid ongoing turmoil surrounding the U.S. banking sector. Spot gold dropped 0.5% to $1,987.99 an ounce. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ World FX rates YTD Global asset performance Asian stock markets Core capital goods Leading economic index and Dow Transports ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Stephen Culp; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Nick Zieminski and Diane Craft)
(Updates to US afternoon)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, April 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks wavered to a
mixed close on Wednesday as tech strength boosted the Nasdaq,
while weak economic data and ongoing wrangling in Washington
over the debt ceiling weighed on cyclicals and the dollar.
Tech shares jumped 1.7%, which helped the Nasdaq
notch a 0.5% gain, the S&P 500 and the Dow were pulled lower by
weakness in economically-sensitive sectors such as industrials and transports , hinting at mounting recession
jitters.
The Dow Transports index, widely viewed as a barometer of
economic health, has notched its largest two-day drop in about
11 months.
"Markets are pretty quiet from a news standpoint; the data
this morning wasn’t 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."
Upbeat earnings from Microsoft , Alphabet Inc and Boeing Co took the sting out of some
disappointing economic data, which showed weakening corporate
expenditures on core capital goods.
"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."
Ongoing congressional wrangling over raising the federal
debt ceiling also added to investor anxieties.
"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.
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