The New York Stock Exchange is set to open lower on Thursday morning, following the disappointing forecasts unveiled the previous day by Meta Platforms, coupled with the announcement of a marked slowdown in US growth.

Half an hour before the opening, futures contracts on the major New York indices lost between 1.1% and 1.5%, heralding a sharp decline at the opening.

The US economy slowed more than expected in the first quarter, with US gross domestic product (GDP) growing at an annualized rate of 1.6%, well below market expectations.

This was its weakest rate of growth in almost two years.

The latest employment figures showed 207.000 new registrations for unemployment benefits in the week to April 15, a figure down by 5000 on the previous week.

But these indicators will be overshadowed by the poorly-received quarterly publication of Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which is likely to jeopardize the recent resurgence of optimism around technology.

On Wednesday evening, the Californian group published results in line with expectations, but unveiled a sales forecast for 2024 that was deemed cautious, causing the stock to plunge by more than 15% before the stock market opened.

'Another cycle of major investments is on the horizon', warns one trader.

Meta may well drag down other technology heavyweights, including Alphabet and Microsoft, who will publish their accounts later this evening.

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