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Wall Street ends mostly flat ahead of earnings wave

Tepid results from Tesla and 3M weighed on Wall Street on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow ending near flat as investors focused on wave of earnings reports from Microsoft, Alphabet and other corporate heavyweights.

Investors will monitor the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting for cues on the central bank’s thinking on inflation, bond buying and risks to the financial system posed by soaring asset prices. The Fed is not expected to change its policy guidance at the end of the meeting on Wednesday.

In the latest upbeat economic data, U.S. consumer confidence jumped to a 14-month high in April as more services businesses reopened on increased vaccinations and additional fiscal stimulus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.01% to end at 33,984.93 points.

The S&P 500 lost 0.02% to 4,186.72.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.34%, to 14,090.22.

- Alphabet reports big earnings beat as revenue grows 34%

- Microsoft books biggest revenue growth since 2018

The software and hardware maker posted 19% annualized revenue growth for the quarter, which ended March 31, according to a statement. That’s the biggest quarterly increase the company has posted since 2018, thanks in part to gains in PC sales resulting from coronavirus-driven shortages last year.

Asia-Pacific stocks little changed as markets struggle for direction

Shares in Asia-Pacific were little changed in Wednesday morning trade, with major markets struggling for direction.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dipped fractionally while the Topix index gained 0.2%.

Japan’s retail sales rose 5.2% in March as compared with a year ago, according to government data. That was higher than a median market forecast for a 4.7% gain, according to Reuters.

South Korea’s Kospi slipped slightly. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined about 0.1%. Australia’s inflation data for the first quarter is expected, with the consumer price index set to be released at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.08% lower.

In corporate developments, investors will monitor Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba after the Wall Street Journal reported that China is investigating how founder Jack Ma got speedy approvals for the company’s stock listing last year.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC