Stock markets in New York fell slightly on Wednesday. Optimism about a possible de-escalation of the conflict in Ukraine was turned into doubt after Moscow dashed hopes about the negotiations. A Kremlin spokesman said he saw no breakthrough in talks with Ukraine.
The two countries’ delegations were still positive about the negotiations in Istanbul on Tuesday. However, investors are now doubting whether Russia is really helping by winding down the offensive around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv or repositioning its troops for an attack elsewhere in the country.
Shortly after opening, the Dow-Jones index was 0.2 percent lower at 35,229 points. The broad S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent to 4,619 points, and tech gauge Nasdaq fell 0.5 percent to 14,533 points.
Investors also processed new data on the US labour market. Data from paycheck processor ADP showed that corporate US jobs grew by 455,000 in March. That was a little more than expected. The ADP figure comes ahead of the US government’s official jobs report, released Friday. The United States economy also grew by a final 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter. A growth rate of 7 percent had previously been reported.
Micron Technology rose 3.5 percent. The chipmaker posted significantly higher profits last quarter thanks to strong demand for chips for 5G equipment and electric cars. According to CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, the company is on track to record sales by 2022.
BioNTech climbed almost 7 percent. The German biotechnology company made more than 10 billion euros profit last year on the sale of vaccines against the coronavirus. BioNTech developed a corona vaccine together with the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer (plus 1.7 percent).
Lululemon Athletica won more than 5 percent. The Canadian sportswear seller posted slightly lower sales than expected last quarter, but profits were higher than analysts had expected. The company also announced that it would buy back $1 billion in its own shares.
Citigroup fell 1 percent. The US bank is selling its consumer business in India to Axis Bank for $1.6 billion.
Oil prices rebounded after the sharp drop the day before. A barrel of US oil costs 4 percent more at $108.44. Brent oil became 3.7 percent more expensive at $114.27 a barrel. The euro was worth USD 1.1145 against USD 1.1113 a day earlier.
