Trader James Macgilvray works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. Stocks are opening modestly higher on Wall Street, making up some of the ground they lost in a sharp pullback a day earlier. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
A late-afternoon burst of buying on Wall Street faded in the final minutes of trading Tuesday, leaving the major stock indexes mixed.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% after spending much of the day wavering between small gains and losses. The modest pullback followed the benchmark index's biggest drop in four months a day earlier.
Roughly 66% of stocks in the S&P 500 fell, with industrial, communication and financial companies accounting for much of the drop. Bond yields mostly rose. The price of U.S. crude oil also rose.
For parts of the afternoon the market had looked like it would recoup some of the losses it took in Monday's big sell-off, but by the closing bell even those gains had mostly fizzled. The market's uneven showing came as investors looked ahead to Wednesday afternoon, when the Federal Reserve is set to deliver its latest economic and interest rate policy update.
“It’s a bit of a pause and the market is waiting for the Federal Reserve to see what they have to say tomorrow,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.
The S&P 500 fell 3.54 points to 4,354.19, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 50.63 points, or 0.1%, to 33,919.84. The Nasdaq composite rose 32.49 points, or 0.2%, to 14,746.49.
Small company stocks also managed gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 3.98 points, or 0.2%, to 2,186.18.
European markets closed broadly higher, while Asian markets mostly rose. Chinese markets remained closed for a holiday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged higher to 1.32% from 1.31% late Monday.
The market sell-off on Monday was prompted in part by worries about heavily indebted Chinese real estate developers and the damage they could do if they default and send ripple effects through markets. That added to a wide range of concerns hovering over investors, including the highly contagious delta variant as well as higher prices squeezing business and consumers.
Wall Street is also gauging how the recovery's slowdown will impact the Fed's policies that have helped support the market and economy. The central bank will release a policy statement on Wednesday, which will be closely watched for any signals on how it will eventually reduce its bond purchases that have helped keep interest rates low.
Health care stocks led the gainers Tuesday. Johnson & Johnson rose 0.4% after reporting that a booster of its one-shot coronavirus vaccine provides a stronger immune response months after people receive a first dose.
Technology companies, which led the broad sell-off Monday, regained some ground. Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices rose 1.6%.
Several companies made solid gains after giving investors encouraging financial updates. Ride-hailing company Uber jumped 11.5% after telling investors that it could post an adjusted profit this quarter. Equipment rental supplier Herc Holdings rose 6.7% following a solid long-term growth forecast.
Supply chain problems, which have been hurting a broad range of industries, weighed on several companies. Homebuilder Lennar fell 0.5% after home deliveries for the third quarter fell short of analysts' forecasts because of supply chain problems.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
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.
