Stocks fall before market opening bell, while Wall Street awaits earnings reports

U.S. stock futures are falling hours before the opening bell on Wednesday, while Wall Street awaits earnings reports from Home Depot and Macy’s.

Ticker	Safety	Last	Change	Change %
I: DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGE	31521.69	+27.37	+ 0.09%
SP500	S&P 500	3876.5	-30.21	-0.77%
I: COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	13533.048339	-341.41	-2.46%

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.8% to 3,876.50, extending its losses for a fifth consecutive day. The benchmark index was divided equally between winners and losers, but technology stocks and companies that depend on consumer spending have borne the brunt of sales. Apple fell 3%, Microsoft fell 2.7%, Tesla fell 8.5% and Amazon lost 2.1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1% to 31,521.69. The Nasdaq lost 2.5% to 13,533.05. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies dropped by 0.7% to 2,251.07.

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Stocks began to lose part of their earnings last week, after a strong start in February, with rising interest rates and the potential for inflation in the future dampening Wall Street’s enthusiasm, although major stock indices remain close to its historical maxims.

“Stock investors are finally paying attention to the bond market,” said Mike Zigmont, director of trading and research at Harvest Volatility Management. “With rising earnings, there is a lot of tension in the stock market.”

Investors remain focused on the future of the global economies hard hit by COVID-19 and the potential for further stimulus to fix them. The United States House of Representatives is expected to vote on the stimulus package proposed by President Joe Biden by the end of the week. This would include checks for $ 1,400 for most Americans, additional payments for children and billions of dollars in aid to state and local governments, as well as additional aid to companies affected by the pandemic.

But the large amount of stimulus being injected into the economy has made some investors hesitate, reviving inflation concerns that were almost nonexistent more than a decade ago. Yields on U.S. Treasury bills and notes have increased in recent weeks, with investors betting that the recovery will bring more inflation.

“There are some risks out there,” said Gary Schlossberg, a global strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “The point is, are we just normalizing back to where we were before the pandemic or are we talking about a radical change.”

Technology stocks made big gains during the pandemic, as investors bet that consumers who spend more time at home will increasingly rely on mobile devices, PCs, video streaming and other technology products and services.

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Meanwhile, Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday after a sale of shares in tech companies on Wall Street.

With Tokyo closed for a national holiday, South Korea’s Kospi fell almost 0.2% to 3,074.76. Australia’s S & P / ASX 200 gained 0.9% to 6,839.20. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.0% to 30,618.85, while Shanghai Composite lost 0.5% to 3,623.99.

“Fortunately, for society at large, there is more optimism than fear today, with vaccines showing scientific results that validate the efficacy and effectiveness of transmission, bringing the world back to normal soon,” said Stephen Innes, strategist- head of global markets a taxi.

Although the world’s economies have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines is raising hopes for a recovery.

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In the energy trade, US reference oil rose 76 cents to $ 62.46 a barrel in e-commerce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. He earned $ 2.44 to $ 61.70 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $ 1.14 to $ 66.38 a barrel.

In currency trading, the US dollar advanced to 105.09 Japanese yen from 105.08 yen. The euro cost $ 1.2167, compared to $ 1.2157.

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AP Business writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed.