[New York Stock Market] Slight Decline Amid Wait-and-See Ahead of Inflation Data... Meta Plummets 5.1%

[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The New York stock market showed a lack of stamina and closed trading on the 7th (local time). Tech stocks dragged the index down, with Meta and Alibaba plunging sharply, and Microsoft and Alphabet also falling.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat at 35,091.13. The S&P 500 index fell 0.37% to 4,483.87, and the Nasdaq index dropped 0.58% to close at 14,015.67.

With no major economic indicators released that could significantly impact the indices, the New York stock market struggled to find a clear direction. The market showed an early upward trend, then fluctuated with declines and rebounds, before turning downward again about 30 minutes before the close.

Although the U.S. January nonfarm payroll data released on the 4th showed favorable results, concerns grew that it could lead to stronger tightening by the central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed), leaving investors uncertain. The upcoming release of the January Consumer Price Index (CPI) on the 10th, which could be a variable in the Fed's actions, further fueled investors' cautious sentiment.

The main factor pulling down stock prices late in the session was tech stocks.

Meta, which plunged last week after announcing earnings forecasts below expectations, remained in shock. Meta's stock price fell sharply by 5.14%.

Alibaba dropped 6.05% following a Citigroup forecast that Japan's SoftBank might sell its stake.

Tesla's stock price also fell 1.73% after CEO Elon Musk was reportedly subpoenaed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC is expected to question compliance related to a surprise tweet Musk posted last November asking whether to sell Tesla shares.

Alphabet fell 2.85%, Microsoft dropped 1.63%, and Apple also declined slightly by 0.42%.

Despite the weakness in tech stocks, Amazon's stock price rose slightly by 0.19% after reporting solid earnings last week. Amazon also announced a significant increase in employee salary caps on the day.

Shares of the two major U.S. low-cost airlines, Frontier Group and Spirit, both rose on news of their merger. Frontier Group's stock price increased 3.47%, while Spirit's surged 17.17%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.