U.S. Stocks Exhibiting Weakness As Rate Cut Hopes Fade After Hawkish Comments From Officials

U.S. stocks are down in negative territory on Tuesday, weighed down by comments from top Fed official that the central bank is unlikely to cut rates anytime soon and any aggressively as earlier thought.

Hawkish comments from some top officials of a few central banks in Europe are weighing as well on sentiment.

Investors are also digesting mixed earnings updates from top U.S. banks.

The major averages are all down in the red with the Dow suffering a more pronounced loss than the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.

The Dow is down 228.05 points or 0.61 percent at 37,364.93. The S&P 500 is down 16.71 points or 0.35 percent at 4,767.12, while the Nasdaq is lower by 46.31 points or 0.31 percent at 14,926.45.

Boeing, down more than 7%, contributing substantiall to the Dow’s marked decline. Ansys, Johnsons Controls, Moderna, Delta Airlines, PayPal, Alaska Air, United Airlines Holdings and Hewlett Packard are down 3 to 6%.

Nike, American Airlines, Airbnb, Bank of America, Baker Hughes, Netflix, HP and Exxon Mobil also declined sharply.

Morgan Stanley is down more than 4 percent. Morgan Stanley’s fourth-quarter bottom line totaled $1.38 billion or $0.85 per share, compared with $2.11 billion or $1.26 per share a year ago.

Goldman Sachs is up nearly 1 percent. The lender reported fourth quarter net earnings of $1.87 billion of $5.48 per share, up from $1.19 billion or $3.32 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Advanced Micro Devices is climbing up more than 7 percent. Nvidia, Micron Technology, Dollar General, Seagate Technology, Verizon, Walt Disney and Tesla are gaining 1 to 3 percent.

A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index plunged to -43.7 in January, the lowest reading since May 2020.

In overseas trading, Asian stocks ended weak on Tuesday in the absence of Wall Street cues and heightened geopolitical tensions.

Gold prices were subdued in Asian trade as the dollar and bond yields rose on waning expectations of an early interest rate cut…