U.S. stocks were trading mixed Tuesday after consumer-confidence numbers and job-opening data pointed to a sturdy U.S. economy, while the Federal Reserve’s looming interest-rate decision and a busy earnings week from the likes of Microsoft are at the front of investors’ minds.
How stocks are trading
-
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA
rose 98 points, or 0.3%, to 38,429. -
The S&P 500
SPX
dipped 3.9 points, or 0.1%, to 4,924. -
The Nasdaq Composite
COMP
fell 100 points, or 0.7%, to 15,526.
On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 224 points, or 0.59%, to 38,333; the S&P 500 increased 37 points, or 0.76%, to 4,928; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 173 points, or 1.12%, to 15,628.
What’s driving markets
After the Dow and S&P scored their sixth record close this year on Monday, investors have a new raft of economic data and corporate earnings to trade on.
But on Tuesday morning — one day ahead of another Federal Reserve announcement on interest rates — the overall move is pretty much a holding pattern.
Job openings topped 9 million for the first time in three months and pointed at a resilient job market, according to the Labor Department. At the same time, number of quitting workers fell again in a sign of softening.
Meanwhile, consumer confidence reached a 2-year high as Americans felt better about cooling inflation and better economic prospects. That’s even when a new look at the housing market shows prices continuing to rise.
November home prices in the 20 biggest metro area climbed for the 10th straight month, increasing to a record high, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller’s price index.
The Fed is widely expected to say Wednesday it is sticking to its current benchmark rate, while the real question is when rate cuts come.
Many investors are positioning for a soft landing with quickly-paced cuts, said Brent Schutte, chief investment officer, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company.
“It’s hard for me to imagine the Fed cutting as aggressively as the market priced in when the economy appears to be going strong,” Schutte said in a phone interview after the job opening and consumer confidence hit the news.
“We’re in an odd period of time” with competing data to point at the economy’s next directions, he said.
Read also: The Fed may be ‘patient’ in cutting rates, says portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley
Also Tuesday, global economies are holding up under various headwinds and the chances of a hard landing are receding, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Schutte said the main events for investors this week are the Fed decision and press conference on Wednesday, followed by the December jobs report. “To me, it’s all about how the Fed views the labor market,” he said. In the jobs numbers Friday, he’ll be watching the data on wages.
But until then, there’s lots of corporate earnings to sift through. Stock market benchmarks have been powered higher by big gains for large technology stocks. That includes Microsoft
MSFT,
Equity bulls will want to see that Microsoft’s results and forecasts, due after Tuesday’s closing bell.
Four other of the so-called Magnificent 7 stocks will also publish earnings in the next few days — Alphabet
GOOG,
on Tuesday, Apple
AAPL,
Amazon
AMZN,
and Meta
META,
on Thursday.
“The price reaction to 5 of the ‘Mag 7’ reports…[is] critical for overall market direction,” said Julian Emanuel, strategist at Evercore ISI.
Other companies delivering results on Tuesday include Pfizer
PFE,
General Motors
GM,
UPS
UPS,
and HCA Healthcare
HCA,
before the opening bell rings on Wall Street, followed after the close by Advanced Micro Devices
AMD,
Starbucks
SBUX,
Electronic Arts
EA,
and Juniper Networks
JNPR,
Companies in focus
-
General Motors Co.
GM,
+7.81%
shares were more than 8.1% higher after a fourth quarter earnings beat and rosy guidance. For example, the car maker notched $42.9 billion in revenue, ahead of FactSet expectations at $38.8 billion. “Consensus is growing that the U.S. economy, the job market and auto sales will continue to be resilient,” Mary Barra, GM’s Chief Executive, said in a shareholder letter. -
United Parcel Service Inc.
UPS,
-6.93%
shares were 7.3% lower early Tuesday after a revenue miss and a disappointing outlook. The delivery giant’s $24.9 billion in revenue missed FactSet consensus of $25.4 billion and marked the sixth straight quarter of revenue misses. -
Pfizer Inc.
PFE,
-1.36%
shares were 1.1% lower Tuesday following an earnings beat and reaffirmation of the drug maker’s 2024 guidance. Pfizer plans to begin the year with a “clean slate,” CEO Albert Bourla said earlier this month. -
Carnival Corp.
CCL,
+0.09%
shares rose 0.4% Tuesday after the company said it’s almost sold out for the first half of 2024 after its booking volumes since November hit an all-time high.
— Jamie Chisholm contributed.
This story originally appeared on Marketwatch
