Major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day in the positive territory supported by upbeat first-quarter earnings figures. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4% on the day, the S&P 500 was adding 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was rising 1.45%.
The strong earnings report from Twitter, which showed a revenue of $786.9 million in the first quarter to beat the market expectation of $775 million, boosted the S&P 500 Technology and Communication Services, allowing them to rise 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively, higher.
On the other hand, the rate-sensitive S&P 500 Financials index is losing 0.2% on the day amid falling Treasury bond yields. Escalating geopolitical tensions following the U.S. decision to end sanctions exemptions for major importers of Iran’s crude oil weighed on the market sentiment earlier in the day and ramped up the demand for safer T-bonds and dragged the yields lower.