It was a hodgepodge session, with news jostling for investors’ attention on a region-by-region basis, ahead of the week’s big-ticket items from Wednesday evening onwards.
Disappointed by a stingy Republican fiscal relief plan – one that, at $1 trillion, is far lower than the $3.5 billion House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is after – and awaiting the month’s Federal Reserve meeting tomorrow night, the Dow Jones tumbled after the bell.
Falling 160 points, the Dow sank back below 26450, leaving it near a 2-week low. It didn’t help that some of the session’s major earnings were stinkers.
Though one of the products it manufacturers is respiratory masks, 3M (NYSE:MMM) still missed earnings estimates, at $1.78 per share against the $1.80 forecast. It also refused to provide any forward guidance, blaming pandemic uncertainty, leaving the stock down 5%.
With footfall taking a severe hit around the world, McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) saw earnings of 66 cents per share, notably worse than the 74 cents expected. Revenue was also down 30% to $3.77 billion, which was admittedly better than forecast and helped keep the stock’s losses at a manageable 2%.
A duff update from luxury brand conglomerate LVMH helped sour the mood in the Eurozone, with the DAX and CAC slipping 0.3% and 0.4% respectively.
The FTSE, on the other hand, desperately clung onto a 0.1% increase despite gains for the pound and a wave of red across its mining stocks. The UK index’s white knight was the housing sector, which rallied on the back of news the government may extend the Help to Buy scheme beyond December.
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