[ad_1]
Expedia tumbled 17.8 per cent despite also reporting stronger profit than expected. The company gave forecasts for the first three months of 2024 that analysts said pointed to slower growth in bookings. The company also announced a new CEO, Ariane Gorin, will take over in May.
Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of “Grand Theft Auto” and other video games, sank 8.7 per cent after it reported weaker profit than expected. It also cut its forecast for results for its fiscal year, which ends at the close of March.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 28.70 points to 5,026.61. The Dow slipped 54.64 to 38,671.69, and the Nasdaq gained 196.95 to 15,990.66.
Profits have largely been coming in better than expected for the big companies in the S&P 500 this reporting season, which is roughly two-thirds finished. That’s usually the case, but even more companies than usual are doing so this time around, according to FactSet.
That has helped optimism rise on Wall Street, but contrarians say it may have gone too far and carried stocks to too-expensive heights.
Traders are flowing into some riskier investments at a quick enough pace that a contrarian measure kept by Bank of America is leaning more toward “sell” now than “buy,” though it’s not at convincing levels. The measure tracks how much fear and greed are in the market, and it suggested buying in October when fear was at a convincing high.
In the bond market, Treasury yields inched higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.16 per cent from 4.15 per cent late Thursday.
Loading
But the movements were much calmer than earlier in the month, when the 10-year yield leaped up from 3.85 per cent as traders forcefully pushed out their forecasts for rate cuts.
It’s an encouraging signal that the stock market can keep hitting highs when expectations are dimming for an imminent cut to interest rates, particularly after the market earlier seemed to be moving solely on such forecasts.
“A less emotional market is a positive sign, though investors must fight against the complacency that is a natural reaction to such a strong and steady bull run,” said Mark Hackett, Nationwide’s chief of investment research.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mostly modestly lower. In Asia, several markets were shut for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 edged up by 0.1 per cent after touching a 34-year high earlier in the day.
AP
The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.
[ad_2]
Source link
