Morning Report: US sharemarkets were mixed on Tuesday

Investors digested inflation data ahead of the release of big US bank earnings results on Wednesday. US consumer prices rose by the most in more than 8 years in March. The Dow Jones index fell after the US Food and Drug Administration recommended pausing Johnson & Johnson’s (-1.3%) Covid-19 vaccines after reported cases of blood clotting. Shares of rival Moderna (+7.4%) jumped. American Airlines (-1.5%) and Avis Budget (-1.0%) shares both fell. But Apple (+2.4%), Microsoft (+1.0%), Paypal (+2.4%) and Tesla (+8.6%) shares all climbed. The Dow Jones index closed down by 68 points or 0.2%, but the S&P 500 index rose by 0.3% to a record closing high. And the Nasdaq index added 146 points or 1.1%.