Wall Street closes divided: Apple weighs on the Dow and Nasdaq rises with technology

The New York stock exchanges ended the session divided. According to the Money Times, the Dow Jones closed down 0.38%, at 51,786.86 points, being the only one among the three main indices to fall. The S&P 500 gained 0.36%, reaching 7,568.92 points, and broke a series of three consecutive negative trading sessions. At the other end, the Nasdaq appreciated by 0.83%, closing at 25,372.009 points, and recovered part of its recent losses thanks to the rise in technology shares.

The main drag on the Dow came from Apple. According to Money Times, the stock fell 1.90%, trading at US$331.90. The company warned that the price of memory chips tends to squeeze its earnings in the final three months of the year, which suggests that more expensive parts could weigh on the financial result later this year.

In the future, the mood was different. According to Times Brasil, on Monday morning, the 2nd, contracts traded in New York were rising, driven by the decline in oil prices. The Dow Jones futures contracts added 310 points of gain, equivalent to 0.6%, while the Nasdaq-100 futures registered an increase of 0.8% and the S&P 500 futures, 0.5%. In oil, Brent lost 4.5%, with a barrel at US$ 108.38; WTI, in turn, fell more than 4% and was worth US$99.31 per barrel.

In fixed income, the ten-year Treasury was at 4.911%, with a drop of 0.023 points, also according to Times Brasil. The VIX, Cboe's volatility index, was 18.95 points. The combination of interest rates, volatility and oil helps explain a trading session without a single direction, in which each sector reacted to its own news.

The political backdrop was also on the radar. Money Times highlighted the US midterm elections on the floor. Times Brasil also draws attention to the week's agenda, with balance sheets, employment numbers and the legislative vote in the USA, in addition to remembering that last week ended with drops in the main New York indices. Still according to the same source, October ended in the red, with technology weighing heavily.

What changes for the investor

For those who invest in the stock market, Nasdaq and interest rates, the message of the day is selectivity. The recovery of technology coexists with Apple's margin warning, and the drop in oil is a factor that can alleviate cost pressures on companies. It is worth monitoring the week's balance sheets, employment data and the results of the legislative elections, because they can change the perception of risk about the American economy. As the scenario is mixed, the reading involves evaluating the weight of each sector and the level of risk that each portfolio accepts, without decisions based solely on one trading session.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.