On Monday, U.S. stock markets opened mixed, with news of Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock split bolstering a market that was otherwise weighed down by rising bond yields and signs of an inflation-driven slowdown in consumer spending.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 156 points, or 0.5 percent, at 34,705 points at 9:45 a.m. ET (1345 GM). The broader S&P 500, on the other hand, was down less than 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.7 percent. The most notable early mover was Tesla stock it rose 6.0 percent to its highest level in more than two months after the electric vehicle maker announced plans to split its stock; this made it more appealing to small investors. It’s unclear how true that is in an age when electronic brokerages routinely offer fractional stocks. Currently, the factory produces just under 10,000 vehicles per week.
Stocks have recovered more than all of the losses suffered after Russia’s invasion.
Bond markets remained under pressure early Monday in New York, with short-term yields rising. In contrast, longer-term yields fell on growing confidence that the Fed will not fall further behind the curve on inflation.
One of the other significant news from the weekend was that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) intends to cut production of its iPhone SE, Air Pods, and other hardware in response to weakening demand for products. Last week, Apple reported considering introducing hardware subscription plans, implying that customers are beginning to balk at high prices. Of Ukraine – and then some – in the last two weeks. Despite a sharp rise in bond yields, this threatens to raise the economy’s overall capital costs. Last week, several Federal Reserve officials hinted that they would have to accelerate their plans to raise interest rates to bring inflation back under control.
In other news, Poly (NYSE: POLY) stock rose 50% after HP (NYSE: HPQ) agreed to buy the maker of work-from-home apps for $3.1 billion, including debt.
