Investing.com - U.S. stocks were mixed on Tuesday, as investors eyed a new series of earnings reports to be released throughout week while sustained concerns over the outlook for global growth continued to weigh on market sentiment.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.03%, the S&P 500 index declined eased up 0.08%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.52%.
Market sentiment came under pressure earlier after official data showed earlier that China posted a trade surplus of USD5.35 billion last month, as imports grew just 5.3% after increasing by 39.6% in February.
Meanwhile, weaker-than-expected nonfarm employment data from the U.S. on Friday revived expectations that the Federal Reserve may conduct a fresh round of quantitative easing and added to uncertainty over the global economic recovery.
Government data showed that the U.S. economy added just 120,000 jobs in March, the lowest number since December and well below expectations for a 203,000 increase.
At a conference earlier in the day, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economy “is still far from having fully recovered” from the financial crisis.
Financial stocks were on the upside after FBR raised its price target on a handful of large banks including Bank of America, whose shares surged 1.23%, JP Morgan, up 0.09%, and Wells Fargo, adding 0.54%.
JP Morgan and Wells Fargo are also scheduled to report earnings later in the week.
Chesapeake Energy also added to gains, jumping 1.96% after the second-largest U.S. natural-gas producer announced three separate deals for its oil and gas assets, raising about USD2.6 billion to help fund development and cut debt after slumping gas prices eroded cash flow.
Other energy stocks turned lower however, led by Exxon Mobil, down 0.50% and Chevron, with shares retreating 0.48%.
Meanwhile, Internet company AOL saw shares fall 0.19% after saying it will sell more than 800 of its patents and related applications to Microsoft, and grant Microsoft a non-exclusive license to patents it retains for slightly over USD1 billion in cash. Shares in Microsoft were down 0.05%.
In the tech sector, Sony plummeted 7.16% after posting a record USD6.4 billion loss after taking a charge to write down deferred tax assets in the U.S., sending shares down 6.37% in pre-market trade.
Other stocks in focus included the world’s third largest aluminum producer Alcoa, set to be the first Dow component to report results after Tuesday's closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.63%, France’s CAC 40 plummeted 1.76%, Germany's DAX declined 1.08%, while Britain's FTSE 100 retreated 0.89%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 0.9%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dipped 0.15%.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.03%, the S&P 500 index declined eased up 0.08%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.52%.
Market sentiment came under pressure earlier after official data showed earlier that China posted a trade surplus of USD5.35 billion last month, as imports grew just 5.3% after increasing by 39.6% in February.
Meanwhile, weaker-than-expected nonfarm employment data from the U.S. on Friday revived expectations that the Federal Reserve may conduct a fresh round of quantitative easing and added to uncertainty over the global economic recovery.
Government data showed that the U.S. economy added just 120,000 jobs in March, the lowest number since December and well below expectations for a 203,000 increase.
At a conference earlier in the day, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economy “is still far from having fully recovered” from the financial crisis.
Financial stocks were on the upside after FBR raised its price target on a handful of large banks including Bank of America, whose shares surged 1.23%, JP Morgan, up 0.09%, and Wells Fargo, adding 0.54%.
JP Morgan and Wells Fargo are also scheduled to report earnings later in the week.
Chesapeake Energy also added to gains, jumping 1.96% after the second-largest U.S. natural-gas producer announced three separate deals for its oil and gas assets, raising about USD2.6 billion to help fund development and cut debt after slumping gas prices eroded cash flow.
Other energy stocks turned lower however, led by Exxon Mobil, down 0.50% and Chevron, with shares retreating 0.48%.
Meanwhile, Internet company AOL saw shares fall 0.19% after saying it will sell more than 800 of its patents and related applications to Microsoft, and grant Microsoft a non-exclusive license to patents it retains for slightly over USD1 billion in cash. Shares in Microsoft were down 0.05%.
In the tech sector, Sony plummeted 7.16% after posting a record USD6.4 billion loss after taking a charge to write down deferred tax assets in the U.S., sending shares down 6.37% in pre-market trade.
Other stocks in focus included the world’s third largest aluminum producer Alcoa, set to be the first Dow component to report results after Tuesday's closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.63%, France’s CAC 40 plummeted 1.76%, Germany's DAX declined 1.08%, while Britain's FTSE 100 retreated 0.89%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 0.9%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dipped 0.15%.