US Close 12 April 19: Stocks ease as investors anticipate earnings reports

 

US sharemarkets were flat to slightly weaker on Thursday.
Healthcare was the biggest drag, down 1.3% but financials rose
0.6%. There was caution ahead of the start of earnings season. On
Friday, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo report earnings. Analysts
expect that S&P 500 first-quarter profits fell by 2.5% on a year ago,
the first contraction since 2016. Latest data assured investors about
the health of the US economy. The Dow Jones index fell by 14
points or 0.1%. The S&P500 index rose by less than 0.1%. And the
Nasdaq index lost 17 points or 0.7%.

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