Major U.S. indexes were mixed Tuesday afternoon as investors digested a slew of corporate earnings reports and awaited results from big technology companies later in the day.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively, in recent trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%. The major indexes closed higher on Monday, as the Dow snapped a five-session losing streak.
Shares of Dow component McDonald’s (MCD) were down slightly after the fast-food chain’s quarterly results beat expectations on the top and bottom lines, though same store sales figures disappointed. Ford (F) shares were down 9%, leading S&P 500 decliners, after the automaker late Monday reported profit that came in short of expectations and trimmed its full-year outlook.
VF Corp. (VFC), owner of The North Face, Vans and Timberland brands, was the big gainer on Tuesday, rising 24% after reporting its quarterly results.
Investors are awaiting earnings reports after the closing bell from Alphabet (GOOGL) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which kick off several days of earnings reports from tech giants including Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Intel (INTC).
Large-cap tech stocks were on the rise Tuesday, with AI investor favorite Nvidia (NVDA), Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta all gaining ground. Tesla (TSLA) shares were down about 2.5% as the EV maker fell for the second straight day after surging 25% over the last two days of last week following a strong earnings report.
Several economic indicators were on the calendar Tuesday, including readings on consumer confidence, job openings and home prices. The economic data calendar also picks up significantly in the coming days with quarterly GDP numbers, monthly inflation data and the October jobs report. Investors are watching all the data points closely as they look for signs that the economy remains on sound footing, as well as information that could influence the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decisions on interest rates.
The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which is correlated with expectations around interest rates, moved higher again on Tuesday morning. The yield, which has been rising as market participants have recalibrated their projections on how aggressive the Fed will be in cutting rates, was at 4.33% in recent trading, up from 4.28% yesterday.
Crude oil futures were down slightly this morning, after tumbling more than 5% on Monday as fears eased that conflict in the Middle East could disrupt Iranian oil production.
Gold futures were up about 1% to $2,780 an ounce, once again trading at record high levels, while bitcoin surged to around $72,700, also not far from a record high.