US open: Stocks slightly mixed ahead of fresh debt ceiling talks

President Joe Biden and US House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy were scheduled to talk again on Monday, having already done so on Sunday.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "The charade continues."

Wilson said that default risks may be higher but this is "a) always going to be resolved and b) always going to the wire before it is".

At 1505 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 0.39% or 129.20 points to 33,297.43, the S&P 500 had ticked up by 0.01% to 4,192.42 and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.44% or 56.15 points firmer to 12,714.05.

Bloomberg reported that the two sides had made some progress, although Republicans were pushing for spending caps that would last for six years, against the two years that the Democrats were offering.

However, Republicans had initially called for spending caps to last for 10 years.

Whether or not defence outlays would be subject to cutbacks was another bone of contention between the two sides.

On Sunday, US Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, said that the chances of the government being able to pay all of its bills until mid-June, when new tax receipts would come in, were "quite low".

In equity markets, Micron shares fell 3% after China banned the US chipmaker's products from major infrastructure projects, claiming they pose a national security risk.

The Cyberspace Administration of China said at the weekend that following a review of Micron’s products, "serious network security risks" had been found, which posed "significant risks to China’s critical information infrastructure supply chain, affecting China’s national security".

PacWest Bancorp jumped 8% following an agreement to sell a portfolio of 74 real estate construction loans with an aggregate principal balance of around $2.6bn currently outstanding to a subsidiary of Kennedy-Wilson Holdings.

Elsewhere, Meta Platforms was adding 2%, shrugging off news that EU regulators fined the company $1.3bn for sending user information to the US.

The yield on the benchmark two-year US Treasury bill was four basis points higher to 4.30% after St.Louis Fed chief, James Bullard, made the case for two more 25 basis point interest rate hikes in 2023.

Neel Kashkari, his opposite number at the Minneapolis Fed, had left the door open to a pause in rate hikes come the 14-14 June policy meeting.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.19 0.87%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $321.03 0.85%
American Express Co. (AXP) $153.76 0.53%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $139.71 0.38%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $210.70 0.16%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $127.43 0.14%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $223.70 0.13%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $115.58 0.08%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $478.75 -0.01%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $30.25 -3.31%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $112.15 -2.27%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $152.82 -1.55%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $150.85 -1.51%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $61.98 -1.35%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $90.32 -1.13%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $181.67 -1.12%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $157.43 -0.93%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $174.02 -0.65%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $324.37 -0.55%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.75 4.14%
Zions Bancorporation (ZION) $27.80 3.85%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $16.72 3.21%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $210.25 2.99%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $252.94 2.97%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $126.87 2.94%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $126.22 2.82%
Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $30.77 2.43%
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) $221.99 1.95%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $454.52 1.90%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Everest Re Group Ltd. (RE) $362.86 -3.62%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $14.30 -3.51%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $30.25 -3.31%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $65.96 -3.24%
Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $29.27 -3.11%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $112.15 -2.27%
Prudential Fincl Inc. (PRU) $80.56 -1.80%
PepsiCo Inc (PEP) $188.61 -1.68%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $152.82 -1.55%
United Rentals Inc. (URI) $343.61 -1.55%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $36.31 3.58%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $128.38 3.30%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $16.72 3.21%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,351.49 3.10%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $252.94 2.97%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $126.87 2.94%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $126.22 2.82%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $34.10 2.56%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $89.44 2.30%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $183.98 2.13%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

American Airlines Group (AAL) $14.30 -3.51%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $30.25 -3.31%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $65.96 -3.24%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $10.15 -1.95%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.83 -1.67%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $16.78 -1.26%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $485.30 -1.17%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $17.60 -1.15%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $76.04 -1.15%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $751.72 -0.97%