U.S. Stocks Fall After ECB’s Surprisingly Big Rate Move
2022.07.21 18:42
By Liz Moyer
Investing.com — U.S. stocks fell as corporate earnings season continued and the European central bank made its first move to tackle inflation by raising interest rates.
At 10:32 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 304 points, or 1% while the S&P 500 was down 0.7% and the NASDAQ Composite was down 0.6%.
New jobless claims rose to 251,000 last week, the third weekly gain in a row and the first time above 250,000 since January.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank raised interest rates by a half-percentage point, which was larger than the quarter-point move expected. It was the ECB’s first rate hike in more than a decade as it, too, tries to combat inflation. The Federal Reserve is expected to make another move on interest rates next week.
Corporate earnings continue to roll in, and for the most part, companies have been beating expectations.
For example, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) beat expectations though its automotive gross margins shrank. Its quarter was affected by factory disruptions in China, where operations shut down for a while because of Covid. Shares rose 4.8%.
American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) shares rose after it forecast profit for the third quarter on the strength of travel demand. Shares have since fallen 9%.
Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) and AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) both beat expectations. Shares fell 1.3% and 9%, respectively.
Oil fell. Crude Oil WTI Futures was down 4.3%, to $95.58 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures crude fell 3.5%, to $103.14 a barrel. Gold Futures rose 0.2% to $1,704 an ounce.
