Wall Street’s S&P 500 index (SP500) on Tuesday ended marginally lower, which meant that the benchmark gauge notched back-to-back negative sessions for the first time since early September.
The average had begun regular trading hours on a much more negative note, weighed down by continued uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s pace of rate cuts. But the gauge steadily ate into its losses through the day and eventually turned positive in the afternoon, following which it seesawed before settling slightly in the red, -0.05% at 5,851.20 points.
The blue-chip Dow (DJI) concluded with an even smaller loss, -0.02% at 42,924.89 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) finished +0.18% at 18,573.13 points.
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Of the 11 S&P sectors, six ended in the red, led by Industrials. Consumer Staples topped the five winners.
The S&P 500 (SP500) ended lower on Monday, amid traders recalibrating their expectations for aggressive Fed rate cuts followed comments from Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari and Kansas City Fed president Jeffrey Schmid that expressed a preference for gradual policy easing.
Market participants responded to the clouding of the rate cut outlook by dumping bonds, which drove the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (US10Y) over 4.20% for the first time since late-July. On Tuesday, the instrument was little changed at 4.21%. The shorter-end 2-year yield (US2Y) was also essentially flat at 4.04%.
For more, see how Treasury yields have done across the curve on the Seeking Alpha bond page.
Tuesday’s spotlight was largely focused on the earnings season. Investors received quarterly reports from some of the most well-known U.S. firms in the world. There was also some caution exactly a fortnight ahead of the presidential election.
“The U.S. election is in two weeks, and the geopolitical landscape remains highly volatile. Markets could be in the eye of an extremely volatile storm that arrives before the end of 2024. Monitor risk-reward levels on trades and investment positions like a hawk in the current environment,” Andrew Hecht, investing group leader of Hecht Commodity Report, told Seeking Alpha.
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Some of today’s notable earnings-related moves included a +9.8% surge in General Motors (GM), with the stock also topping the percentage gainers on the S&P 500 (SP500). Strong sales of the legacy carmaker’s traditional internal combustion engine vehicles led to a 16% climb in Q3 North American revenue.
Philip Morris International (PM) added +10.5% and was another top S&P percentage gainer. The cigarette giant upped its annual profit guidance on solid demand for its IQOS heated tobacco products and its ZYN nicotine pouches.
Conversely, GE Aerospace (GE) slid -9.0% and was among the top percentage losers on the S&P. The maker of jet engines missed quarterly revenue expectations.
Dow 30 component Verizon (VZ) was -5.0% after its quarterly revenue came in below consensus.
Semiconductor bellwether Texas Instruments (TXN) will be announcing earnings after the closing bell.
