Countdown for Nvidia: Dow up, Nasdaq down

Investors will be wiser tomorrow after the stock market closes. That's when chip giant Nvidia will present its figures for the past quarter. Investors are cautious in advance. The stock is once again one of the big losers today. The leading index Dow Jones was nevertheless able to gain moderately, ending up 0.37 percent at 43,621.16 points. The index received a tailwind primarily from consumer-related stocks in the "old economy" such as Home Depot, Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and McDonalds.

In contrast, the broader S&P500 index fell by 0.47 percent to 5,955.25 points. The Nasdaq 100 came under greater pressure and lost 1.24 percent to 21,087.25 points.

The market's caution regarding Nvidia's business figures and forecasts was reflected in the stock's price losses: Since Friday, they have lost almost 10 percent. On Tuesday, the loss was 2.8 percent. Other tech heavyweights in the Dow, such as IBM and Microsoft, also fell.

One of the biggest winners in the Dow was Home Depot, which rose 2.8 percent. The home improvement chain benefited from rising demand in the fourth quarter, said analyst Michael Lasser of UBS Bank. Walmart even gained 4.3 percent.

As Bitcoin fell, related stocks such as Coinbase, Microstrategy and Riot Platforms suffered losses of up to 11 percent. At times, the cryptocurrency had slipped to its lowest level since mid-November. Stock market traders cited a hacker attack on the crypto exchange Bybit as the reason.

Zoom shares were also a clear loser, falling by 8.5 percent. Expert Rishi Jaluria from RBC Bank criticized the video conferencing specialist's weak targets for the new fiscal year.

Tesla shares intensified the recent sell-off with a loss of 8.4 percent and fell to their lowest level since early November. The market value of the electric car manufacturer thus fell below the one trillion US dollar mark. "It is now dawning on many investors that (Tesla boss) Elon Musk will hardly have time for the challenges at Tesla alongside SpaceX, Twitter successor X and the artificial intelligence company xAI," say the experts at Index-Radar.

Shares in pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly gained 2.3 percent. Investors welcomed lower prices for the weight-loss drug Zepbound. Eli Lilly wants to use this approach to fend off cheaper imitation products.

Paypal shares lost 1.6 percent and fell to their lowest level in five months. The payment processor's forecasts for the coming years did not convince the market.

The doughnut manufacturer's disappointing outlook for the current year was no picnic for Krispy Kreme shareholders. Shares fell by more than 20 percent to a record low.

Contains material from dpa-AFX