Following the most recent corporate earnings announcements from some of the biggest companies in the world, including Microsoft, equity markets started the day in the red. Recent earnings from companies like Boeing, Texas Instruments, and 3M were also thought to be underwhelming, and the tech giant’s conference call was viewed as disappointing. On Wednesday, the price of gold and silver fell between 0.43% and 0.72%, while over the previous 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market fell by 2.79% versus the US dollar.
Concerns of US Recession Mount as Corporate Earnings Disappoint
Stocks, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies were down on January 25, 2023, following a few of optimistic weeks. Investors watched the U.S. economy closely as they anticipated the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting. Earnings reports released by Microsoft, Union Pacific, Texas Instruments, and other companies on Wednesday contributed to lingering worries about a future U.S. recession by showing that the economy was not improving.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), the S&P 500 (SPX), the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC), and the Russell 2000 (RUT), the four U.S. benchmark stock indices, were all down between 1% and 2.05% on Wednesday morning into the afternoon. Along with dismal earnings reports from some of the biggest companies in the nation, the United States’ industrial production fell by around 0.7% in December 2022.
Additionally, industrial production fell in November 2022, decreasing 0.6% from the previous year. Another surprise was the fact that November and December 2022 had minimal retail sales during the holiday season. According to data, retail sales decreased 1.1% last month, which was the worst decline of the year even though the holidays were in full swing.