The Nasdaq scored a record closing high and the S&P 500 rose on Tuesday, while the Dow fell as investors digested a host of corporate earnings and awaited Google-parent Alphabet’s results that came after the market close. The TSX ended slightly lower as the price of oil added to the previous day’s sharp decline and increased long-term borrowing costs weighed on interest-rate sensitive stocks.
Alphabet, one of the so-called Magnificent Seven megacap technology stocks, reported quarterly revenue and earnings that beat estimates after the close on Tuesday, sending its shares up more than 4% in post-market trading. It had already gained 1.6% in regular trading.
This is the busiest week for S&P 500 earnings in the quarter, with eyes on five of the “Magnificent Seven” companies that are reporting results.
The group’s results will be crucial to determining whether Wall Street can sustain the optimism around technology and artificial intelligence that has lifted indexes to record highs this year.
“I think one of the things the market is digesting is the idea of some degree of convergence in earnings growth between the high fliers - the Magnificent Seven that are obviously very high in terms of market weighting - versus the rest of the market,” said Bill Merz, head of Capital Markets Research for U.S. Bank’s asset management group.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 145.56 points, or 0.78%, to 18,712.75, breaking the previous closing record in July. The S&P 500 climbed 9.45 points, or 0.16%, to 5,832.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 154.52 points, or 0.36%, to 42,233.05.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 3.11 points, or 0.01%, at 24,562.55, its sixth decline in seven trading days since notching a record closing high.
The Canadian 10-year yield touched a three-month high at 3.320% before pulling back to 3.270%, with the market tracking moves in U.S. Treasury yields before the U.S. presidential election next Tuesday.
The utilities sector, which includes high-dividend paying stocks that become less attractive as bond yields rise, fell 1.8%, while real estate was down 0.4% and financials ended 0.2% lower.
Energy lost 0.7% as the price of oil settled 0.25% lower at US$67.21 a barrel on a report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a meeting for a diplomatic solution to the war in Lebanon.
The materials group helped limit the Canadian market’s decline. It rose 1.5% as the price of gold climbed to a record high.
In the U.S., investors sifted through a deluge of corporate earnings. Vans parent VF Corp jumped 27% after the apparel company reported its first profit in two quarters.
D.R. Horton fell 7.2% on Tuesday after the homebuilder forecast 2025 revenue below estimates. Other homebuilders lost ground, dragging the PHLX Housing index down 2.5%.
Ford slumped 8.4% a day after the automaker said it expected to hit the lower end of its annual profit forecast.
Visa and restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill posted earnings after the close.
In economic news, the U.S. Labor Department’s JOLTS survey showed job openings were at 7.44 million in September, compared with estimates of 8 million, a Reuters poll of economists showed.
A separate report showed U.S. consumer confidence at 108.7 in October, above the estimated 99.5.
Investors are anticipating a volatile few weeks with more corporate earnings, Middle East tensions, and the Nov. 5 U.S. elections followed by the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.78-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 176 new highs and 75 new lows on the NYSE. The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 93 new highs and 70 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.59 billion shares, compared with the 11.5 billion full-session average over the last 20 trading days.
Reuters, Globe staff