New York Stock Exchange, Wall street, Manhattan, New York, USA (Getty Images)
Wall Street's major stock indexes closed mixed Tuesday, as more big companies delivered their financial results for the last three months of 2022 amid lingering concerns about a potential recession.
The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1%, its second loss in three trading days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. Small company stocks also lost ground, with the Russell 2000 shedding 0.3%
The decline for major indexes marked a reversal from Monday, when a tech company-driven rally more than made up for the S&P 500's losses last week.
Stocks have been volatile as investors try to get a better sense of how inflation is affecting the economy, the potential for a recession and whether the Federal Reserve can ease up on its aggressive interest rate increases.
The latest batch of earnings show that companies continue to struggle with the effects of inflation on consumers and supply chains.
Post-it notes and industrial coatings maker 3M fell 6.2% for the biggest drop among S&P 500 stocks after reporting weak fourth-quarter earnings and announcing job cuts. It is the latest company to announce layoffs as consumers get squeezed by inflation and worries grow about a bigger pullback in spending and a possible recession.
Union Pacific fell 3.3% after reporting disappointing earnings and revenue.
Microsoft rose 4% in afterhours trading after the software and technology giant reported earnings that topped Wall Street's forecasts. It closed down 0.2% in regular trading.
All told, the S&P 500 slipped 2.86 points to 4,016.95. The Nasdaq gave up 30.14 points to close at 11,334.27, while the Dow added 104.40 points to 33,733.96.
The Russell 2000 index of small companies slid 5.16 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 1,885.61.
U.S. crude oil prices settled 1.8% lower.
Trading in more than a dozen companies was temporarily halted on the New York Stock Exchange after an apparent technical issue caused wide swings in their stock prices right as the market opened. Shares in Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, AT&T and other companies moved sharply at the open, triggering a halt in trading. The prices corrected after trading resumed. The NYSE says it is investigating the “reported issues” and all systems are now operational.
Markets have been swinging between hope and caution as investors watch to see if the Fed will adjust its inflation-fighting strategy. The central bank has already pulled its key overnight rate up to a range of 4.25% to 4.5% from virtually zero early last year.
The Fed will announce its next rate increase on Feb. 1 and traders expect a quarter-point raise, which would mark a softening of the central bank's pace.
“Where the market and the Fed are having a fairly violent disagreement right now is how long are they going to leave rates at around 5%?” said Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments.
Long-term bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, fell to 3.46% from 3.52% late Monday.
Wall Street will get a few economic updates this week that could provide more insight into inflation's impact.
The government will release gross domestic product data for the fourth-quarter on Thursday. Economists expect less than 1% of growth, following 1.9% growth in the third quarter and a contraction during the first half of 2022. Investors will get more updates on personal spending and income on Friday.
——
Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
Just days after Facebook's Meta announcement, Microsoft announced that it will be launching its own mixed reality platform called Mesh through Teams. Jared Spataro, corporate vice president at Microsoft 365, joined Cheddar to provide some additional insight into this metaverse for businesses and how they can benefit from incorporating the tech. Among the features, Mesh users will be able to use cartoon-like avatars to interact with colleagues in an immersive virtual environment.
Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Ancient Oceans'; Deep-sea biologist Heather Bracken-Grissom sheds light on some of the monsters that we can and cannot explain lurking in the darkness of the ocean's depths; Tim Janssen, CEO of Sofar Ocean, discusses Sofar Ocean's latest round of Series B funding, and how Sofar Ocean is helping connect all five oceans to help everything from climate change to the global shipping industry.
Tim Janssen, CEO of Sofar Ocean, joins 'Cheddar Reveals' to discuss Sofar Ocean's latest round of Series B funding, and how Sofar Ocean is helping connect all five oceans to help everything from climate change to the global shipping industry.
Bob Carter, EVP of sales at Toyota Motor North America, joined Cheddar to discuss the company's first all-electric SUV, the BZ4X, to be available in the United States in spring of 2022. Carter also went into the ongoing global semiconductor chip shortage that forced the automaker to slash production by 15 percent in November impacts on production and the other electric vehicle model being offered from its Lexus brand.
Marjorie Mesidor, Esq., Partner, Phillips and Associates, PLLC and Dr. Anthony Santela, professor of health administration and university covid coordinator at the University of New Haven join J.D. Durkin and None Of The Above to talk about the expected fallout from New York City's vaccine mandate.
Zillow shares plummeted on news that homes the real estate marketplace purchased in order to flip are worth less than their original sale prices. Last month the platform announced a halt of home purchasing due to renovation costs and construction labor shortages.
Rachel Cleetus, the policy director and lead economist of the climate and energy program for the Union of Concerned Scientists, joined Cheddar to break down some of the key goals from the COP26 summit and why leaders must focus on the science of climate change instead of getting bogged down by petty politics and the fossil fuel industry. "The main thing they have to do, make sure we're cutting our emissions sharply within this decade because the science shows that we have to cut global emissions in half by 2030 if we're going to meet our goals of averting some of the most catastrophic impacts of climate change," she said.
Patrick Healey, Founder and President at Caliber financial Partners, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss what's poised to be a key week for the markets, as investors await Fed comments on inflation and the October Jobs report out Friday.
Ted Mortonson, Technology Strategist at Baird, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to break down the factors that led to weaker-than-expected earnings results for the two tech giants, and whether they can find solutions to these issues in the coming months.
American Airlines experienced massive delays over the weekend, canceling over 1,700 flights and leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. The airline blamed staffing shorts and weather for the delays. Nick Ewen, Senior Editor at The Points Guy explains why these delays could be here to stay as the holiday season approaches, and shares the best tips for travelers eager to book flights.
