US equity indices slipped on Tuesday after mixed earnings reports from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
At 9:48 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 226.52 points, or 0.60 per cent, at 37,366.46, the S&P 500 was down 26.82 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 4,757.01, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 89.39 points, or 0.60 per cent, at 14,883.37.
Apple stock shed 2.4 per cent after offering rare discounts on iPhones in China on competition pressures.
Tesla stock declined 2.2 per cent after CEO Elon Musk said he would be uncomfortable growing the EV maker to be a leader in artificial intelligence and robotics without having at least 25 per cent voting control of the company.
Shares of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley fell 0.8 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively.
Goldman Sachs reported a 51 per cent jump in the fourth quarter profit.
Morgan Stanley’s profit declined, while revenue surpassed expectations on a rebound in dealmaking activity.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 99.44 points, or 0.26 per cent at the open to 37,493.54. The S&P 500 opened lower by 11.48 points, or 0.24 per cent, at 4,772.35. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 64.50 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 14,908.26 at the opening bell.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.01 per cent from 3.95 per cent late Friday. The US dollar index rose 0.8 per cent to a more-than-one-month high.
On Friday, the US stocks closed almost flat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 118.04 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 37,592.98. The S&P 500 gained 3.59 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 4,783.83. The Nasdaq Composite rose 2.58 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 14,972.76.
European shares fell on Tuesday with the benchmark STOXX 600 declining 0.6 per cent.
Britain’s FTSE 100 edged down 0.4 per cent at 7,564.71. France’s CAC 40 lost 0.4 per cent at 7,381.15. Germany’s DAX falls 0.7 per cent at 16,514.72.
In Asian stock markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 2.2 per cent to 15,865.92. China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.3 per cent to 2,893.99.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged down 0.8 per cent to 35,619.18.
Oil prices rose by around 1 per cent on Tuesday, on escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures gained 81 cents, or about 1.04 per cent, to $78.96 a barrel at 1333 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 41 cents, or 0.56 per cent, from Friday at $73.09 a barrel.
On Monday, Houthi rebels said that they will expand targets in the Red Sea region to include US ships, following US-led strikes in Yemen.
Gold prices declined on Tuesday, on strengthening US dollar and Treasury yields.
Spot gold was down 0.8 per cent at $2,037.40 per ounce, as of 1212 GMT. US gold futures fell 0.5 per cent to $2,041.50.
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