After moving to the upside at the start of trading, stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of the session on Tuesday. The major averages have spent the bulk of the trading day lingering near the unchanged line.
Currently, the major averages are posting modest losses. The Dow is down 2.79 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 30,957.21, the Nasdaq is down 15.12 points or 0.1 percent at 13,620.87 and the S&P 500 is down 5.23 points or 0.1 percent at 3,850.13.
The choppy trading on Wall Street may reflect uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets after the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 climbed to new record closing highs on Monday.
Optimism about additional stimulus under President Joe Biden has helped drive stocks higher in recent sessions, although recent reports have pointed to intensifying opposition from GOP lawmakers.
The Biden administration has signaled a willingness to negotiate over the president’s $1.9 trillion proposal, but it is worth noting that talks over the previous relief package dragged on for months.
The lackluster performance on the day also reflects a mixed reaction to earnings news from a number of big-name companies.
3M (MMM) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) have moved notably higher after reporting quarterly results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
On the other hand, fellow Dow components American Express (AXP) and Verizon (VZ) have moved to the downside despite reporting better than expected fourth quarter earnings.
Shares of General Electric (GE) are moving sharply higher after the industrial conglomerate reported a surge in fourth quarter net profits amid better than expected revenues and cash flow.
Microsoft (MSFT), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Capital One (COF), and Starbucks (SBUX) are among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of trading.
Meanwhile, traders have largely shrugged off a report from the Conference Board showing an unexpected improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of January.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index climbed to 89.3 in January from a downwardly revised 87.1 in December.
The increase surprised economists, who had expected the index to edge down to 88.5 from the 88.6 originally reported for the previous month.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors continue to show only modest moves in mid-day trading, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
Housing stocks have come under pressure over the course of the session, however, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index falling by 1.7 percent.
Considerable weakness has also emerged among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. The index reached a record intraday high in early trading.
Energy stocks have also moved to the downside along with the price of crude oil, while some strength remains visible among airline stocks.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged by 2.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index surged up by 1.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.9 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction after moving notably higher in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 1.036 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Continue To Experience Choppy Trading
2021-01-26 17:07:02
