The major US stock market on Wednesday extended recent stretch of losses that have pulled wall street down to start the year. Major banks and household names have began reporting their earnings with the technology-heavy Nasdaq shedding 1.1%, finishing the day 10.7% below its all-time closing high, set in November.
A decline of greater than 10% is considered a correction for a stock index.
On the other hand, the S&P 500 fell 1%, to 4532.76 while the Dow Jones lost 1%, to 35028.65. Moderna Inc. sank by 6.72% as the Ford Motor Company plunged by 7.92%.
Wall Street Earnings
Morgan Stanley reports higher profit
Morgan Stanley ($MS) reported its fourth-quarter earnings as a booming market for deals and demand for financial advice lifted the Wall Street firm to full-year profit record according to Bloomberg.
The bank posted a profit of $3.7 billion, up 9%, against $1.94 a share which was expected by analysts. Revenue rose 7% to $14.5 billion in the quarter, which fell just short of expectations.
Bank of America’s quarterly profit rises 28%
The second-largest U.S. bank, Bank of America ($BAC) profits rose 28% in the fourth quarter, boosted by record investment-banking revenue and recovering appetite for borrowing from businesses and consumers.
The bank earned $7.01 billion, up from $5.47 billion a year earlier.
Sony shares tank over 12% after Microsoft announces acquisition of Activision for $68.7 billion
Shares of Sony ($SONY) fell by more than 5% on Wednesday’s US trading session after tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) announced plans to buy Activision for $68.7 Billion. Sony declined by 7% on Tuesday.
According to the Wallstreet Journal, investors likely fear rising competition to Sony’s PlayStation division as well as the potential for Microsoft to pull some popular games from the Japanese entertainment giant’s platforms.
Peloton insiders sold $500 million in stock before big drop
Executives and insiders of Peloton ($PTON), an American exercise equipment and media company sold nearly $500 million worth of their stock before its big decline, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, CNBC reported.
Peloton stock is down more than 80% from its highs last year, and it hit a 52-week low of $29.11 on Tuesday. Yet the company’s CEO and other executives sold millions of shares at prices over $100 a share in the months leading up to the big declines.
Expected Earnings
The earnings season gets busier in the week ahead with a range of companies including Netflix (NFLX) expected to release its Q4 FY 2021 earnings on Jan. 20, 2022. There are also results coming from transportation companies, including JB Hunt Transport Services ($JBHT), United Airlines ($UAL) and Union Pacific ($UNP).
Over the next week, investors will be parsing earnings from big tech companies including Microsoft ($MSFT).
