U.S. stocks opened mostly higher Tuesday, but not by much, as traders eye the growing pile of corporate earnings reports and look to build on Monday’s record performance from two of the major benchmarks.
How stocks are trading
- The S&P 500 was up 4 points, or 0.1%, at 4,855
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42 points, or 0.1%, to 37,959
- The Nasdaq Composite gained 49 points, or 0.3%, to 15,360
On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA
rose 138 points, or 0.36%, to 38002, the S&P 500
SPX
increased 11 points, or 0.22%, to 4850, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP
gained 49 points, or 0.32%, to 15360.
What’s driving markets
The Dow notched its first-ever close above 38,000 on Monday, while the S&P 500 finished the day with its second record close for 2024.
By Tuesday morning, calmer conditions in the Treasury market — where 10-year yields appear to have found equilibrium, for now, around 4.1% — are allowing traders to place greater focus on the fourth quarter of 2023 company earnings season.
The pace of announcements is about to pick up speed in the next few days, hitting top gear next week , when about 23% of the S&P 500 will present their numbers.
Companies releasing results on Tuesday include Verizon
VZ,
3M
MMM,
General Electric
GE,
Johnson & Johnson
JNJ,
and RTX
RTX,
before the opening bell rings on Wall Street. After market close, there’s Netflix
NFLX,
Texas Instruments
TXN,
and Baker Hughes
BKR,
With the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 at record highs, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite having jumped 18% in just the past three months, investors will be keen to see that company profits support markets at current levels.
Read also: Here’s what big consumer-sentiment gains mean for the stock market — and this one is unusual
Investors have become more optimistic about the U.S. economy’s health and are hoping upcoming earnings reports will indicate an AI boom for technology companies, according to Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
“Tech earnings and corporate guidance are crucial factors for continuing to drive the Mega Tech charge,” said Innes.
Helping support sentiment on Tuesday was signs of a possible nascent rebound in Chinese stocks after a report that Beijing was considering a $287 billion stabilization fund.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
HK:HSI
bounced 2.6% off its lowest close since October 2022, while the Shanghai Composite
CN:SHCOMP
inched up from a near four-year trough. The iShares MSCI China ETF
MCHI,
which had fallen 11.9% for the month-to-date, was up 1.3% in U.S. premarket trading.
U.S. economic updates set for release on Tuesday include the Richmond Fed index for January, due at 10 a.m. Eastern.
The U.S. Treasury will auction $60 billion of 2-year notes at 1 p.m.
Companies in focus
-
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ,
+5.56%
shares were 3% higher after earnings results that showed revenue coming in higher than expected along with sizeable customer gains in sements of its consumer wireless business. -
3M Co.
MMM,
-10.11%
shares were over 9% lower. The consumer, industrial and healthcare-products company reported earnings that topped consensus, but the 2024 profit outlook fell short of analysts’ expectations. -
Johnson & Johnson
JNJ,
-3.13%
shares were 2% lower at the trading start after earnings and guidance from the pharmaceutical company that beat forecasts. -
Vroom, Inc.
VRM,
-42.76%
shares were 46% lower early Tuesday after the automotive e-commerce company said it was winding down its online used car sales business. The company said it would keep its auto financing and its analytics lines of business.
