The S&P 500 is down a bit like the last quarterly bench

NEW YORK, June 29 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 ended the bearish session on Wednesday with a slight downtrend as investors stumbled to the finish line of the worst first month for the Wall Street benchmark index since the low month, a sad quarter and President Richard. Nixon’s first term.

The three major U.S. stock indexes spent most of the session hesitant between red and green. The Nasdaq S&P 500 closed at a nominal low, while the blue chip Dow made a small gain.

“The market is having a hard time finding direction,” said Megan Horneman, chief investment officer at Verdence Capital Advisors in Hunt Valley, Maryland. “We had disappointing data and the markets are looking forward to a profit season where we will have more clarity about future earnings and the economic slowdown.”

Apple market leaders (AAPL.O)Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Amazon.com (AMZN.O) Economically sensitive chips provided the upper muscle (.SOX) small lids (.RUT) and transports (.DJT) they performed poorly in the wider market.

With one day to go until the end of the month and the second quarter, the S&P 500 set the course for the biggest first-half decline since 1970.

The Nasdaq was on its worst performance in the first half, while the Dow was on its way to its biggest interest rate drop in January-June after the financial crisis.

All three indices had to record their second consecutive quarterly decline. The last time it happened was in 2015.

“We have a central bank that has had to go from decades of easy monetary policy to a period of tightening,” Horneman said. “This is new to many investors.”

“We are re-evaluating for what we expect to be a very different interest rate environment in the future.”

Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) The S&P 500 rose 82.32 points, or 0.27%, to 31,029.31 (.SPX) 3,818.83 and Nasdaq Composite, losing 2.72 points or 0.07% (.IXIC) It decreased by 3.65 points or 0.03% to 11,177.89.

Five of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 lost ground today with energy reserves (.SPNY) undergoes the largest percentage reduction. Health (.SPXHC) led the winners.

Benchmark Treasury revenues rose more than 1,606 percentage points in 2022, the biggest jump in the first half since 1984. This explains the reason for interest rate-sensitive growth reserves. (.IGX) has dropped by more than 26% so far.

In recent days, Federal Reserve officials have reiterated their determination to curb inflation, raising expectations for a second consecutive 75 percent basis point increase in July, while expressing confidence that monetary tightening will not drag the economy into recession. read more

In the economic news, the US Department of Commerce data showed that the GDP in the first three months of the year decreased slightly more than previously reported. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of the economy, contributed significantly less than initial data. read more

A day earlier, a consumer confidence report showed that consumer expectations had fallen to their lowest level since March 2013.

With just a few weeks to go before the second quarter, 130 companies in the S&P 500 have announced in advance. According to refinitive data, 45 of them were positive and 77 were negative, resulting in a negative / positive ratio of 1.7 strong in the first quarter, but weaker than a year earlier.

What will investors listen to in these call to profit?

Horneman said, “Margin pressures are a big concern, if they see price pressures, a reduction in capital plans due to the slowdown, and any improvement in the supply chain.”

Packaged food company General Mills Inc. (GIS.N) sales rose 6.3% after exceeding estimates. read more

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O) The retailer fell 23.6 percent after announcing it was replacing CEO Mark Tritton, hoping to end the crisis. read more

Package delivery Fedex Corp. (FDX.N) decreased by 2.6% after the disappointing margin forecast for the land section. read more

The number of declining emissions surpassed the NYSE’s by 1.96-1; The Nasdaq favored a 1.79-1 decline.

The S&P 500 recorded 1 new 52-week high and 36 new minimums; The Nasdaq Composite recorded 14 new highs and 284 new lows.

The volume of shares on US stock exchanges in the last 20 trading days amounted to 11.55 billion shares, compared to an average of 12.79 billion shares.

Interview by Stephen Kulp; Additional report by Amruta Khandekar and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bangalore; Edited by David Gregorio

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