Wall Street Indices: Pause Ahead of Economic Data and Fed Statements

One day before the release of new inflation data and just before the presentation of the ISM indicator from the industry, the US indices seem to be taking a breather. After the US stock markets marked historic highs in the previous week, the continuation of their upward trend is for now more subdued. Investors are eagerly looking forward to the upcoming economic indicators and measured remarks from the US Federal Reserve (Fed), whose representatives will make public appearances today. A slight downward trend is already indicated before the start of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial is quoted by broker IG with a decrease of 0.23 percent, which would mean a deepening of the previous day's closing. The Nasdaq 100, more heavily weighted towards technology stocks, could, according to forecasts, yield 0.33 percent, which would relativize yesterday's gains. Economically, there is cautious optimism, despite a lesser-than-expected increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the fourth quarter. Speculations of rate cuts by the Fed have slightly weakened, however, investors are now focusing on a moderate rate cut that could be calibrated to a total of 0.75 percentage points. Announcements from prominent US companies continue to draw central interest. The online auction house Ebay was able to impress with its after-hours financial results and a positive outlook, which sent the stock price up by over 5 percent pre-market. First Solar also saw a pre-market increase in its share price of nearly 7 percent, although sales fell short of market expectations. Yet the earnings figures and prospects convinced the market. Salesforce will be in focus after the market closes, as good quarterly results and an ongoing discussion about the growth potential of the software giant are expected. In contrast, Applied Materials lost around 3 percent pre-market after government inquiries regarding shipments to Chinese customers became known. Smaller titles show movement: Beyond Meat catapulted almost 60 percent higher after the company specializing in vegan meat alternatives exceeded market expectations despite declining business figures. Cryptocurrency-related stocks also benefited from a further increase in Bitcoin's price, with companies like MicroStrategy and Marathon Digital, Cleanspark, and Coinbase as well as Riot Platforms booking pre-market gains.