Wall Street Ends Lower As Meta Platforms Weighs

Wall Street ended lower on Monday, as investors digested recent quarterly results from Facebook owner Meta Platforms and other megacaps, while Peloton jumped following reports of interest from potential buyers, including Amazon, reports Reuters.

Meta Platforms fell 5.1 per cent, adding to losses after its bleak forecast last week caused a record plunge in the social media company's stock market value. 

Meta was among the companies that weighed on the S&P 500 more than any other stock, while Nvidia rose 1.7 per cent and lifted the index more than any other stock.

Amazon.com Inc rose 0.2 per cent after expanding its market capitalization by around $190 billion on Friday on the back of blowout earnings.

Peloton Interactive Inc surged almost 21 per cent following reports that Amazon and Nike are exploring potential buyout offers for the stationary bike maker.

Reflecting investors' recent aversion to tech and other stocks with high valuations, the S&P 500 growth index lost 0.9 per cent, while the value index added 0.1 per cent.

The S&P 500 remains down more than 5 per cent so far in 2022, with investors worried that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates faster than expected.

"Buying the dip was a foregone conclusion until 2022. There is no more guaranteed buying on the dip," said Jake Dolllarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "We're seeing corrections in indexes and individual securities on a daily and weekly basis."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained unchanged to end at 35,091.13 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.37 per cent to 4,483.87.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.58 per cent to 14,015.67.

Tyson Foods Inc surged about 17 per cent after the meatpacker's first-quarter profit nearly doubled and surged past estimates on the back of higher prices.

Of 278 companies in the S&P 500 that have posted earnings as of Friday, 78 per cent reported above analysts' expectations, according to Refinitiv data.

An unexpectedly strong jobs report last week added to investors' concerns about potentially aggressive monetary policy tightening by the Fed. Key inflation data for January is due on Thursday.

Markets are now pricing in a one-in-three chance the Fed might hike by a full 50 basis points in March and the prospect of rates reaching 1.5 per cent by year end.               

Spirit Airlines Inc jumped 17 per cent after it and Frontier Group Holdings unveiled plans to create the fifth-largest US airline in a $2.9 billion tie-up. That lifted the S&P 1500 Airlines Index over 3 per cent.

US-listed shares of China's Alibaba Group Holding fell about 6 per cent after it registered an additional 1 billion American depositary shares.

Volume on US exchanges was 10.2 billion shares, compared with a 12.4 billion average over the last 20 trading days.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.16-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.33-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and six new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 37 new highs and 98 new lows.