In this March 23, 2021 file photo, pedestrians walk past the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District. Stocks are off to a mostly lower start on Wall Street Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021 as drops in several big technology companies offset gains in other parts of the market. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
Stocks closed mixed on Wall Street Tuesday after a day of wobbly trading. Losses in big technology stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending tempered gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.5%. Prices for crude oil and wholesale gasoline rose despite the fact that President Joe Biden ordered 50 million barrels of oil released from the nation’s strategic reserve to help bring down energy costs. The move was made in concert with other big oil-consuming nations. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.68%.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Stocks were mixed in choppy trading on Wall Street Tuesday, keeping the major indexes hovering near their recent all-time highs.
The S&P 500 was up 0.1% as of 3:40 p.m. Eastern, after spending much of the day wavering between small gains and losses. The benchmark index is coming off two straight drops after setting a record high last Thursday. Losses in big technology stocks and a mix of companies that rely on consumer spending tempered gains elsewhere in the index.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 192 points, or 0.5%, to 35,811, and the Nasdaq fell 0.6%.
Bond yields edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.67% from 1.63% late Monday. That helped send banks higher. JPMorgan Chase rose 2.3%
The price of U.S. crude oil rose 2.3% and wholesale gasoline rose 3.4% despite the fact that President Joe Biden ordered 50 million barrels of oil released from the nation’s strategic reserve to help bring down energy costs. The move was made in concert with other big oil-consuming nations.
Oil and gas companies made solid gains as energy prices rose. Devon Energy rose 5%.
Several travel-related companies gained ground ahead as people prepare to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday. Hilton Worldwide rose 0.8% and Booking Holdings rose 2%.
Retailers were mixed ahead of the official start of the key holiday shopping season. Discount retailer Dollar Tree jumped 9.2% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. Starbucks rose 1.4%. Best Buy slumped 13.2%, the biggest drop in the S&P 500, as concerns about tighter margins outweighed solid earnings.
Technology and communications companies also weighed on the broader market. Chipmaker Nvidia fell 1.3% and Microsoft dropped 0.8%.
Zoom Video sank 13.6% a day after the video conferencing company reported that its third-quarter revenue growth slowed.
Investors are facing a holiday-shortened week. Markets are closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving and will close early on Friday.
Wall Street will get a few pieces of economic data on Wednesday that could give investors a better sense of the economic recovery's pace and breadth. The Labor Department will release its weekly report on unemployment benefits. The Commerce Department releases data on third-quarter gross domestic product and its new home sales report for October.
Also on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will release minutes from its October interest-rate meeting, potentially giving investors more details on the central bank's plan to start trimming bond purchases that have helped keep interest rates low.
Investors have been watching to see if pressure from rising inflation will goad the Fed into speeding up its plans for trimming bond purchases and raising its benchmark interest rate.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
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