US stock markets have demonstrated a slight increase, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising by 0.3%, the S&P 500 index climbing by 0.33%, and the NASDAQ growing by 0.28%. Throughout the trading day, the indices showed even smaller growth, with the Dow Jones rising by only 0.06%, the S&P 500 increasing by 0.05%, and the NASDAQ initially falling by 0.08%.
Market participants are currently focused on companies publishing their earnings reports for the previous quarter. At the end of last week, major US banks such as JP Morgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo, and Citigroup released their reports, which showed record profits for the past quarter. Analysts have attributed this to rising interest rates, which have boosted their revenues.
Today, other US banks, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of New York Mellon, are expected to release their reports. Earning reports in the banking sector reports have so far exceeded analysts' predictions. However, traders should wait for the publication of reports from other major companies, such as Johnson & Johnson and Netflix.
According to recent data, economic growth in the US has slowed down. This information has left market participants somewhat perplexed whether the Federal Reserve will continue to increase the key interest rate or pause the hike cycle. More statements from Federal Reserve policymakers are expected later this week.
The manufacturing PMI for the current month reached 10.8 points, significantly exceeding market forecasts and the negative figure of 24.6 in the previous month. Meanwhile, the NAHB housing market index for April came in at 45 points, surpassing the forecasted 44 points.
In corporate news, Samsung Electronics, one of the largest electronics manufacturers, has announced plans to replace Google's search engine with Microsoft Bing for its devices. Following this news, shares of Alphabet, Google's parent company, fell by 3.3%, while Microsoft's shares rose by 0.6%.
Following the news of an impending $10.8 billion deal between Prometheus Biosciences, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc., shares of Prometheus soared by 69%.
On the Dow Jones index, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. rose by 1.76%, The Travelers Companies, Inc. gained 1.73%, and Boeing Co. increased by 1.65%. In the meantime, UnitedHealth Group, Inc. and Amgen, Inc. declined by 1.26% and 0.77% in their share prices, respectively.
On the S&P 500, M&T Bank Corp. advanced 7.78%, Enphase Energy, Inc. grew by 7.67%, and Digital Realty Trust, Inc. appreciated 7.15%. Conversely, State Street, Moderna, and Signature Bank experienced share price declines of 9.18%, 8.35%, and 5.85%, respectively.
Among companies on the NASDAQ index, the best performing stock was Presto Automation, Inc. which surged by 160.43%, followed by ContraFect Corp. at 154.44% and Blackboxstocks, Inc. at 107.2%. On the other hand, shares of Marpai, Inc., Pear Therapeutics, Inc., and Laser Photonics Corp. Unit declined by 43.32%, 33.61%, and 31.95%, respectively.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,809 stocks advanced while 1,160 stocks declined. A similar trend was observed on the NASDAQ exchange, where 2,291 stocks increased while 1,278 stocks declined.
The forex market was mixed, with EUR/USD slipping by 0.65% to 1.09. USD/JPY climbed by 0.52% to 134.46.
