Wall Street ends lower as Meta weighs

Feb 7 - Wall Street ended lower on Monday, as investors digested recent quarterly results from megacaps Amazon and Facebook owner Meta Platforms, while Peloton jumped following reports of interest from potential buyers, including Amazon.

Amazon.com Inc traded higher for much of the session after expanding its market capitalization by around $190 billion on Friday on the back of blowout earnings.

Meta Platforms fell, 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 lifted the index more than any other stock.

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

The S&P 500 remains down more than 5% so far in 2022, with investors worried about 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."

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 16.44 points, or 0.37%, to end at 4,484.08 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 82.25 points, or 0.58%, to 14,015.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.52 points, or 0.00%, to 35,091.26.

Tyson Foods Inc surged 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% 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% by year end.

Spirit Airlines Inc jumped 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.

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

Reuters