WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stock prices went down south on Wall Street on
Tuesday, sliding lower and lower after a weak start, as concerns about inflation
and uncertainty about the Fed's interest rate moves rendered the mood bearish.

The central bank, which is scheduled to announce its monetary policy on
Wednesday, is widely expected to leave interest rate unchanged. The accompanying
statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post meeting press conference for clues
about future interest rate moves.

Investors digested a mixed batch of earnings updates, and some disappointing
economic data.

The major averages all ended sharply lower, with the Nasdaq suffering a more
pronounced loss. The Dow ended down by 570.17 points or 1.49 percent at
37,815.92. The S&P 500 dropped 80.48 points or 1.57 percent to 5,035.69, while
the Nasdaq tumbled 325.26 points or 2.04 percent to settle at 15,657.82.

A report from MNI Indicators showed Chicago-area business unexpectedly
contracted at an accelerated rate in the month of April.

The report said the Chicago business barometer dropped to 37.9 in April from
41.4 in March, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. Economists had
expected the index to rise to 44.9.

With the unexpected decrease, the Chicago business barometer fell to its lowest
level since November 2022.

A report released by the Conference Board showed consumer confidence in the U.S.
deteriorated by much more than expected in the month of April.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slid to 97.0 in April
from a downwardly revised 103.1 in March. Economists had expected the index to
dip to 140.0 from the 104.7 originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, data from the Labor Department showed labor costs in the U.S. rose
more than expected last quarter, up by 1.2%, indicating a rise in wage
pressures.

Microsoft Corporation shares dropped about 3.2 percent. Amazon ended down by 3.3
percent. Apple Inc., NVIDIA Corporation, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, JP Morgan
Chase, Oracle, Chevron, Bank of America, Exxon Mobil, Visa Inc and Walmart ended
with sharp to moderate losses.

Eli Lilly and Company shares rallied nearly 6 percent, after the company
reported stronger than expected quarterly earnings. 3M Company surged higher
after reporting strong first quarter earnings.

PayPal shares climbed higher after the company said its total payment volume in
the first quarter rose by 14% to $403.9 billion.

In overseas trading, Asian stocks ended higher on Tuesday, with Chinese markets
underperforming after the release of mixed PMI data.

European stocks closed weak after a cautious session ahead of the Federal
Reserve's monetary policy meeting. Investors digested the latest batch of
economic data from the region.

The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.68 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down
0.04 percent, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended down 1.03 percent and 0.99
percent, respectively.

Preliminary flash estimate from Eurostat showed that the euro area economy
expanded in the first quarter after two consecutive declines, with gross
domestic product growing by more-than-expected 0.3% on quarter following a 0.1%
fall each in the fourth and third quarters of 2023.

The German economy also avoided recession in the first quarter, with GDP growing
more-than-expected 0.2% sequentially in the first quarter, in contrast to the
revised 0.5% decrease in the preceding period.

Meanwhile, headline inflation in the euro area came in at 2.4% in April,
matching forecasts. On a monthly basis, inflation was 0.6%.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by
$0.70 at $81.93 a barrel. Gold futures ended down by $54.00 or about 2.3% at
$2,291.40 an ounce.

In the currency market, the dollar was at 1.0671 against the Euro, and fetching
157.83 yen a unit.



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