Dow Jones Today: Index (and Inflation) Slip

Salesforce led tech stocks higher, while American Express and Visa fell on consumer credit worries

By
Terry Lane
Terry Lane
Full Bio
Terry has 25 years experience in journalism and communications, reporting on a range of topics that include personal finance, telecommunications, Congress, government regulations, and criminal justice. He has also worked on technology, energy, and environmental policy issues as a congressional press secretary and owned and published a local community newspaper in North Carolina.
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Published May 10, 2023
The Salesforce logo is seen at its headquarters

Stephen Lam / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

  • Inflation report fails to calm investors' recession worries, but the Dow rebounds from midday lows.
  • Tech companies dominated, led by Salesforce and Microsoft.
  • A consumer credit report signaled a pullback in consumer spending, sending American Express, Visa, and Nike lower.
  • Disney shares fell before its earnings report, as investors worry it will mirror its competitors’ subscriber and advertising troubles.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 1% by midday as investors digested news of stubborn inflation before rebounding to close down 0.1%. Salesforce (CRM) led gainers while American Express (AXP) dropped.

Salesforce was the index's best performer, rising about 2% after saying it would add artificial intelligence to its Tableau data visualization platform, coming after its unveiling of its AI-powered SlackGPT.

Microsoft (MSFT) moved up nearly 2% after the company told staff it would skip raises and reduce bonuses for full-time employees this year. The company started cutting costs when it began laying off 10,000 employees in January.

American Express shares fell 3% after a Bank of America report showed credit card spending dropped in April, the first year-over-year drop in spending since February 2021. Rival Visa (V) fell 0.8%. Home Depot (HD), Walmart (WMT), and Nike (NKE) also fell on concerns about consumers pulling back.

Walt Disney (DIS) shares were down 1% in advance of its first-quarter earnings report. Investors will be looking at Disney's advertising revenue and streaming growth after competitors like Paramount Global (PARA) and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) disappointed with weak sales and subscriber results. 

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