US stocks ended an extremely dismal April

Wall Street Stocks ended a dismal April on April 29, after disappointing business results from Amazon.

The main indexes on Wall Street this session all dropped sharply. Specifically, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.8% to 32,977.21 points.

The S&P 500 index lost 3.6% to 4,131.93 points, while the Nasdaq Composite technology index lost 4.2% to close at 12,854.80.

This session, Amazon shares fell as much as 14.1% to $2,485.63 per share after announcing disappointing business results and forecasts.

The reason given is that Amazon is facing increased costs amid slowing growth compared to the pandemic period. The company also reported its first loss since 2015.

Craig Erlam, analyst at forex platform OANDA, said Amazon is the latest name to catch Wall Street off guard. Like many other companies, Amazon is struggling to adapt to life after the pandemic, having scaled massively over the past two years.

Financial analysis site Briefing.com also noted that Amazon’s dismal forecast reminded investors of the prospect of slowing growth in a high-inflation environment.

In general, observers said that factors including rising interest rates, some large enterprises reporting disappointing business results and growing concerns about the global growth outlook have shaken the market. US stock market in April.

For the whole month of April 2022, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.9% from the previous month, while the S&P 500 lost 8.8% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 13.3%.

This is the largest monthly percentage drop since March 2020 for the Dow Jones and S&P, and the largest for the Nasdaq Composite since October 2008.

Additionally, it was also the worst-performing April for the Dow Jones and S&P 500 since 1970, and the worst month for the Nasdaq Composite since 2000.

The end of April is not so happy, investors will want to look for a recovery in May. But the situation is not looking too favorable for the market from here.

April’s big drop preceded the usual period of weakness for stocks, with the “sell in May and go” mentality officially emerging next week.

According to information gathered by the Stock Traders Almanac site, an investor holds stocks in the Dow Jones Index between November 1 of the previous year and April 30 of the following year, and then switches to the earnings segment. fixed for the next six months will produce solid returns with reduced risk. This investment strategy has worked for over seven decades.

Sam Stovall, investment strategist at investment research and consulting firm CFRA, also said the market’s seasonal weakness is often particularly pronounced during midterm election years.

This expert noted that locking in profits before the period from May to October is often beneficial for investors, especially in the years when midterm elections are held.

Mr. Stovall cited that since 1992, the S&P 500 has fallen an average of 3.4% in the upper part of midterm election years.

One thing that is expected to be able to break the seasonal trend next week is the upcoming Fed meeting on May 3-4.

The central bank will issue an updated policy statement on Wednesday (May 4), followed by a press conference from Chairman Jerome Powell.

Quincy Krosby, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial, said the market will be watching the meeting for answers to a series of questions: Will the Fed comply. preliminary policy directions and uphold its previous commitment to price stability? How far is the Fed willing to go to uphold those commitments, and what does this central bank see as potentially disruptive?

Following Wednesday’s Fed news, investors will get a bunch of key market data on the US labor market, including Thursday’s jobless claims and the nonfarm payrolls report tomorrow. Friday.

The jobs report for April 2022 is likely to get more attention next week, after the US gross domestic product (GDP) unexpectedly grew negative in the first quarter.