Financial Markets. Wall Street. NEW YORK (AP) – On Tuesday, rallying technology stocks propelled the Nasdaq composite to a record. However, trading was mixed on the rest of Wall Street. Homebuilders and Ford Motor sank after the latest profit reports. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to approach its all-time high set earlier this month, although most stocks in the index fell for the day. Influential Big Tech stocks’ gains masked weakness elsewhere and pushed the Nasdaq composite up 0.8% to exceed its last all-time high set in July. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 154 points, or 0.4%. Alphabet rose 1.8% before its profit report arrived after trading ended for the day. The parent company of Google is the latest in the group of stocks known as the ‘Magnificent Seven’ to report quarterly results. Each will have to deliver significant growth to justify their high prices.
Other market heavyweights such as Microsoft and Meta Platforms were among the strongest forces pushing the S&P 500 upward. They helped offset an 8.4% drop for Ford Motor. Ford said an underlying measure of profit for the full year will likely come in at the bottom end of its forecasted range. The automaker noted that stubbornly high warranty expenses and other costs are holding back its profits. Though its results for the third quarter were better than analysts expected. JetBlue Airways lost 17.1% despite its results for the latest quarter being better than analysts expected. The carrier said its revenue could fall between 3% and 7% in the last three months of 2024 from a year earlier, due to this month’s Hurricane Milton and the upcoming U.S. presidential election. D.R. Horton tumbled 7.2% after the homebuilder reported weaker profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
Executive Chairman David Auld stated that some potential home buyers are awaiting more affordable mortgage rates and are on the sidelines. In total, the S&P 500 increased by 9.40 points to 5,832.92. The Dow dropped 154.52 to 42,233.05, and the Nasdaq composite rose 145.56 to 18,712.75. Mortgage rates have been on the rise recently due to the climbing 10-year Treasury yield. Yields have rallied as successive reports indicate that the U.S. economy remains stronger than expected. On Tuesday, reports showed that U.S. consumer confidence jumped more than economists anticipated, while the number of job openings edged lower in September, but the number of hires remained relatively steady. These numbers have compelled traders to reduce expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, as it is now equally focused on maintaining economic growth and reducing inflation.
The stock market today saw a significant event with tech stocks propelling the Nasdaq to a new record high, even as most of Wall Street faced challenges. Traders are wagering on a slim possibility that the Federal Reserve will maintain its primary interest rate at the upcoming meeting, following an unusual rate reduction in September. Previously, many expected a larger cut in November.
Yields have increased as investors perceive an improved chance of former President Donald Trump’s re-election. Economists speculate that a Trump victory could drive inflation higher in the long term, potentially leading to increased interest rates. Trump Media & Technology Group, which often correlates more with Trump’s re-election probabilities than its own financial performance, experienced an 8.8% rise to $51.51 on Tuesday.The parent company of Trump’s Truth Social platform has been rallying since hitting a bottom of roughly $12 in late September. It moved so sharply during the day that trading of its stock was briefly halted several times. Treasury yields eased a bit after paring gains from earlier in the day. The 10-year yield slipped to 4.25% from 4.28% late Monday, but it’s still well above the 3.60% level it was sitting at in the middle of last month. Treasury yields, like stocks, have historically tended to be shaky heading into an Election Day, only to calm afterward regardless of which party wins. In stock markets abroad, indexes dipped in Europe after rising in much of Asia outside of a 1.1% drop for stocks in Shanghai. Crude oil prices slipped after erasing earlier gains to compound their sharp 6.1% drop from the prior day.
The stock market today saw a significant event as tech stocks propelled the Nasdaq to a new record high. Despite this, most of Wall Street faced challenges.
Brent crude, serving as the international standard, experienced a 0.4% decline.
