U.S. stocks are holding relatively steady Tuesday near their record levels. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 108 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.
Quick Read
- U.S. stock markets showed minimal changes, with the S&P 500 remaining almost unchanged, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping by 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite increasing by 0.2%.
- Macy’s shares surged by 5.7% following better-than-expected quarterly results and the announcement of a major reorganization plan, including closing around 150 stores and expanding Bloomingdale’s and BlueMercury locations.
- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings experienced a significant 14.7% increase in stock value after reporting strong customer demand and providing an optimistic earnings forecast for the year.
- Lowe’s reported higher-than-expected quarterly profits, leading to a 3% rise in its stock, although its revenue forecast for the coming year was below analyst expectations, and it noted a continued slowdown in DIY projects.
- Zoom Video Communications saw a 4.2% increase in its stock price after exceeding profit expectations and announcing a $1.5 billion stock buyback program, despite its current value being significantly lower than its pandemic peak.
- Chevron’s stock dropped by 2.3% due to uncertainties surrounding its acquisition of Hess, mainly related to a joint operating agreement for a project off the coast of Guyana, affecting the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
- Nvidia’s slight 0.6% decrease slightly impacted the market, despite its significant gains this year, highlighting the outsized influence of major tech companies on market indices.
- The market’s top-heavy nature is evident in the disproportionate impact of a few large tech companies on the S&P 500’s performance, reminiscent of the Dot.com era but with these companies being profitable.
- Cryptocurrency prices, including Bitcoin, have seen increases, with Bitcoin crossing the $57,000 mark, partly due to the introduction of new bitcoin-holding ETFs and the impact on related businesses like Coinbase.
- Despite a mixed earnings reporting season and varying economic indicators, there is optimism that the strong U.S. economy will support profit growth through the year.
- Economic reports revealed mixed signals with weaker-than-expected orders for durable goods but better performance excluding transportation items, and a slight dip in consumer confidence despite recent improvements.
- Treasury yields were mixed, reflecting ongoing adjustments in expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, with predictions now pointing to June rather than March for potential reductions.
- International stock markets showed varied performance, with gains in Shanghai and Europe, but a decline in Seoul and stable levels in Tokyo near historical highs.
The Associated Press has the story:
Wall Street stocks hold relatively steady near record highs
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP) —
U.S. stocks are holding relatively steady Tuesday near their record levels. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 108 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.
Macy’s climbed 5.7% after reporting better results for the latest quarter than feared. It also announced a sweeping reorganization as it tries to kickstart growth in revenue. It will close about 150 stores and focus on opening new Bloomingdale’s and BlueMercury locations.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings steamed 14.7% higher for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after it said it’s seeing healthy demand from customers. It also gave a forecast for earnings this upcoming year that was bigger than analysts’ own.
Lowe’s gained 3% after reporting a better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But it also gave a forecast for revenue this upcoming year that was weaker than analysts had penciled in, and it said a slowdown is continuing for DIY projects.
Zoom Video Communications climbed after topping analysts’ forecasts for profit last quarter. It rose 4.2% to $65.80, though it’s still well below its peak above $500 during the height of the pandemic. It also announced a program to buy back up to $1.5 billion of its stock, which would send cash directly to shareholders.
Those winners helped offset a 2.3% drop for Chevron, which warned that its pending takeover of Hess may be under threat. The energy companies are in discussions with Exxon Mobil and China National Offshore Oil Corp. about a joint operating agreement for a project off Guyana’s shore. If they can’t come to an acceptable resolution, Chevron said in a filing with U.S. securities regulators that its merger with Hess may not close.
Chevron was one of the main reasons for the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s slide. Hess fell 3.3%.
Nvidia was also weighing on the market. Its 0.6% dip took a tiny bit of shine off its jaw-dropping run. Its stock is still up more than 50% so far this year after soaring nearly 240% last year amid Wall Street’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.
Even though Nvidia’s stock change was so small, it packs an extra weight on the S&P 500 because it’s the third-largest stock on Wall Street by market value. It and a handful of other Big Tech companies have been responsible for a huge, disproportionate amount of the S&P 500’s rally since its bottom in October 2022.
To see how top-heavy the market has become, consider how the S&P 500 would be behaving if it gave each stock’s movement the same weight. The S&P 500 is beating that equal-weighted index on a one-year rolling basis by a wide margin, “just a whisker shy of the Dot.com bubble record highs,” according to strategists at Barclays.
Unlike that bubble, though, the companies driving the growth this time are actually making profits and not flying on just hype.
“As such the investment case for continued outperformance remains intact, but arguably more vulnerable to occasional corrections, given ebullient sentiment,” according to the strategists led by Stefano Pascale and Anshul Gupta.
Along with tech stocks, cryptocurrency prices have also been running higher. Bitcoin rose above $57,000 and is up by more than a third so far this year already.
New exchange-traded funds that hold bitcoin have made investing in the cryptocurrency easier, while also driving business for Coinbase and others who safeguard those ETFs’ bitcoins. Coinbase rose 4.2% Tuesday to bring its gain for the year so far to more than 16%.
Earnings reporting season is winding down for the big companies in the S&P 500, and the hope is that a remarkably solid U.S. economy will help profits grow through this year.
A report in the morning showed orders for long-lasting manufactured goods were weaker last month than economists expected, but they were better than forecast after ignoring airplanes and other transportation items.
A separate report said that confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly slipped. Confidence had been on the upswing, and it’s a closely followed figure on Wall Street because spending by consumers makes up the bulk of the U.S. economy.
On the upside for investors, the report also showed that expectations for inflation among U.S. consumers ticked down a bit.
Treasury yields were mixed but holding relatively steady following the reports. Yields have been climbing so far this year as traders push back forecasts for when the Federal Reserve may begin cutting interest rates.
The Fed has already pulled its main interest rate to the highest level since 2001 in hopes of grinding down high inflation. With inflation cooling since its peak two years ago, the Fed has said it may cut rates several times this year. But a suite of stronger-than-expected reports on the economy have pushed back expectations for the start of those cuts toward June from March.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mostly higher across Asia and Europe. Stocks jumped 1.3% in Shanghai but sank 0.8% in Seoul. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was little changed, remaining near its highest level in history.
