Dow Jones edges along near record high, quarterly figures move markets

Wall Street experienced another rollercoaster ride on Tuesday, which again reflected a remarkable stabilization at a high level. Despite declining yields in the U.S. bond market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average moderately gained 0.2 percent during trading and thereby cautiously approached its recent peak near the 38,800-point mark. The previous trading day had been characterized by rising interest rates on U.S. Treasury notes, which, coupled with concerns about a less accommodative U.S. Federal Reserve policy, weighed on the stock barometer. The direction of the New York Stock Exchange is currently heavily influenced by forecasts for the monetary policy future of the U.S. Signals from the Federal Reserve along with robust economic data had recently tempered speculation about an impending interest rate cut. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 recorded a slight decline of 0.4 percent to 17,542 points. The broad-based S&P 500, on the other hand, fell marginally by 0.1 percent and closed at 4,939 points. The earnings season continues to keep the markets on their toes. In the pharmaceutical sector, Eli Lilly made headlines with an unexpectedly sharp profit increase, which sent the stock up by 1.5 percent. At chemical company Dupont, the announcement of a share buyback program led to a robust price increase of 6.3 percent. The German industrial gas specialist Linde also reported pleasing figures for the fourth quarter, leading to a plus of 4.2 percent in its shares traded in the U.S. In the media and technology sector, Spotify made headlines with a share price increase of 6.6 percent—the highest value since the end of 2021—after it became known that the audio streaming service provider's paid offering was in higher demand despite a price increase. On the flip side, Symbotic faced significant losses. A quarterly loss and a disappointing earnings forecast for the second quarter caused a dramatic share price plunge of more than 20 percent.