Interest rate jitters send US markets into reverse
US markets retreated on Tuesday, as expectations that US interest rate cuts may be delayed, adding to selling pressure at the start of the second quarter. After major indices posted impressive gains in the first quarter, stocks are poised for "normal consolidation activity after (a) stellar start to the year for many stocks," said Briefing.com. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 1.0 percent at 39,170. The S&P 500 shed 0.7 percent to 5,205, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.0 percent to 16,240. The weakness early in the second quarter comes as many market watchers consider equities "overbought." Adding to the selling pressure has been a rise in US Treasury bond yields, a proxy for interest rates, following unexpectedly high inflation data that has led analysts to push back expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. On Tuesday, a senior Federal Reserve official said that she recently raised her prediction for interest rates over the longer term. "I raised my estimate to reflect the continued resilience in the economy despite high nominal interest rates and higher model-based estimates of the equilibrium interest rate," said Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester. Among individual companies, GE Aerospace, the revamped General Electric following the company's split into three groups, fell 2.4 percent. GE Vernova, the renewable energy company spun out from the conglomerate, lost 1.4 percent, while GE Healthcare Technologies, which was spun out in January 2023, dropped 1.6 percent. Health insurance stocks slid after US health officials set lower than expected reimbursements under the government Medicare program. Dow member UnitedHealth Group tumbled 6.4 percent, while Humana slumped 13.5 percent. Tesla fell 4.9 percent after reporting lower than expected first quarter auto sales. Disney rose 1.1 percent following a Wall Street Journal report that the entertainment giant was leading a closely-watched proxy battle with activist Nelson Peltz ahead of the company's annual meeting on Wednesday. (AFP)