Nasdaq, S&P 500 Move Back To The Downside But Dow Posting Modest Gain

Stocks have moved mostly lower in morning trading on Tuesday, giving back ground after turning higher over the course of the previous session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has shown a notable pullback, while the Dow is bucking the downtrend.

Currently, the Nasdaq is down 114.91 points or 0.9 percent at 13,013.15 and the S&P 500 is down 12.97 points or 0.3 percent at 4,284.17. Meanwhile, the narrower Dow is up 58.26 points or 0.2 percent at 33,970.70.

The pullback on Wall Street comes as some traders look to cash in on recent strength in the markets, as the rebound seen over the course of Monday’s session lifted the major averages to their best closing levels in over three months.

Lingering concerns about the global economic outlook, inflation and higher interest rates are also weighing on the markets.

Meanwhile, the Dow is benefiting from strong gains by retail giants Walmart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD), which are jumping by 6 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, after reporting better than expected quarterly results.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing new residential construction tumbled by much more than expected in the month of July.

The report showed housing starts plunged by 9.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.446 million in July after slumping by 2.4 percent to a rate of 1.559 million in June. Economists had expected housing starts to decline by 1.2 percent to a rate of 1.540 million.

With the much steeper than expected drop, housing starts dove to their lowest annual rate since hitting 1.430 million in February of 2021.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, also fell by 1.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.674 million after inching up by 0.1 percent to a revised rate of 1.696 million in June.

Economists had expected building permits to tumble by 2.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.650 million from the 1.685 million originally reported for the previous month.

A separate report released by the Federal Reserve showed U.S. industrial production increased by more than expected in the month of July.

The Fed said industrial production climbed by 0.6 percent in July following a revised unchanged reading in June.

Economists had expected industrial production to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.2 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.

Semiconductor stocks have shown a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 1.8 percent.

Considerable weakness is also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.

Airline stocks are also seeing notable weakness in morning trading, resulting in a 1.6 percent decrease by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

On the other hand, natural gas stocks are moving higher along with the price of the commodity, driving the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index up by 1.2 percent.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.1 percent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed just below the unchanged line, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are all seeing modest strength on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has risen by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving higher over the two previous sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.8 basis points at 2.849 percent.

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