The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished Tuesday marginally lower, as investors grappled with ongoing concerns about a potential rise in interest rates and processed this week’s latest earnings reports.
The S&P 500 closed down 0.05 per cent, finishing at 5,851.20. This marked the broad market index's first consecutive loss since early September. The Dow slipped 6.71 points, or 0.02 per cent, ending at 42,924.89, also experiencing its second straight losing day. In contrast, the Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a gain of 0.18 per cent, closing at 18,573.13.
Earlier in the day, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note rose above 4.2 per cent for the first time in about three months before retreating slightly. Cautious remarks from Federal Reserve officials regarding the timeline for interest rate cuts have contributed to the increase in yields.
Homebuilding stocks fell due to ongoing concerns about prolonged high rates, with Lennar and D.R. Horton each declining by more than 3 per cent.
Traders are closely watching a new round of earnings reports set to be released this week, including Tesla and Coca-Cola on Wednesday and Honeywell on Thursday.
So far, about one-fifth of S&P 500 companies have reported their results, with the majority exceeding earnings expectations, according to FactSet.
Looking at the S&P 500 sectors, the performance was mixed. Consumer Staples emerged as the top performer, while Industrials lagged behind.
In company news, General Motors surged nearly 10 per cent after surpassing Wall Street’s third-quarter expectations and raising its full-year guidance. Philip Morris also jumped roughly 10 per cent after increasing its annual profit forecast, while Verizon fell 5 per cent after its total revenue narrowly missed analysts’ expectations. Lockheed Martin shares dropped 6 per cent following lower-than-expected quarterly sales.
October has been a strong month for the market, with the S&P 500 reaching a record high and extending its year-to-date gain to over 22 per cent.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.3 per cent gain
Currency
One Australian dollar at 7.50am was buying 66.82 US cents.
Dividends payable
Perenti Ltd (ASX:PRN)
Reece Ltd (ASX:REH)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap, Marketech.
