FX.co ★ U.S. Stocks Show Modest Move To The Downside

After an initial dip, Monday's trading session saw stocks performing inconsistently, though they generally retained a downward trend. All the major indexes closed lower than they did the previous Friday.

The NASDAQ, particularly tech-rich, retracted 44.35 points or 0.3% to hit 16,384.47; a step back from the record high achieved in the previous session. Concurrently, the S&P 500 dropped 15.99 points to 5,218.19, while the Dow Jones decreased by 162.26 points to 39,313.64.

The early market slump was largely influenced by the weak performance of tech stocks, especially semiconductor behemoth, Intel, which sunk by a staggering 4.7%. This was Intel's lowest intraday level in more than four months.

The sudden decline followed reports from the Financial Times, stating that China aims to gradually remove microprocessors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) from government computers and servers. However, by the end of the day, Intel had clawed back some ground, closing 1.7% lower, while AMD closed 0.6% down.

Microsoft also saw a 1.4% fall in shares following claims that the stricter Chinese governmental procurement guidelines could sideline Windows operating systems and foreign-made database software, favoring instead domestic alternatives.

Despite this, market movements remained relatively moderate as traders were hesitant to make substantial moves before the release of key economic data in the coming days.

Traders will be keeping an eye on reports concerning durable goods orders, consumer confidence and pending home sales. Although the market will be closed for Good Friday, a personal income and spending report containing Fed-preferred inflation readings remains.

The Commerce Department released a morning report showing an unexpected decrease in new US home sales in February. Sales slipped by 0.3% to reach an annual rate of 662,000 after a 1.7% rise to 664,000 in January. Economists had predicted a surge of 2.9% to 680,000 from the previous month's 661,000.

In terms of sectors, despite a general market downturn, airline stocks saw a significant rise, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index gaining 1.5%. Similarly, oil service shares climbed alongside a sharp rise in crude oil prices, propelling the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 1.2% to a five-month high.

In overseas trading, most Asia-Pacific-region stock markets performed poorly on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index declined by 1.2% while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.7%.

European markets presented mixed results; Germany's DAX Index increased by 0.3%, but the UK's FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.2 % and France's CAC 40 Index closed almost flat.

In the bond market, treasuries ceded gains from previous sessions, resulting in a 3.5 basis point increase on the benchmark ten-year note yield to hit 4.253%.

Tuesday's trading may be influenced by reactions to the latest US economic data, including reports on durable goods orders and consumer confidence.