U.S. Stock Indexes Drift Higher, Setting More Records
NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes drifted higher Tuesday to set more records following another quiet day of trading. The S&P 500 rose 13.28 points, or 0.3%, to 5,321.41, surpassing its record set last week. The Nasdaq composite added 37.75, or 0.2%, to 16,832.62, a day after setting its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66.22, or 0.2%, to 39,872.99, sitting just below its high set last week.
The market has been climbing to records largely on expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this year as inflation hopefully cools. More reports showing big U.S. companies earning fatter profits than expected have also boosted the market.
Macy’s joined the chorus line of companies delivering a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and its stock jumped 5.1%. Lam Research also helped support the market after announcing a program to buy back up to $10 billion of its own stock.
However, not all companies saw positive results. Palo Alto Networks saw a 3.7% drop despite delivering a better profit report than expected. Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Donald Trump’s Truth Social network, sank 8.7% after disclosing a net loss of $327.6 million in its first quarterly report as a publicly traded company.
Hopes for coming cuts to rates have sent Treasury yields lower, easing the pressure on the stock market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.41% from 4.48% late Monday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were lower across much of Europe and Asia. Indexes fell 2.1% in Hong Kong and 0.4% in Shanghai after S&P Global Market Intelligence raised its forecast for Chinese economic growth this year.
This week’s headliner is Nvidia, reporting its latest quarterly results on Wednesday. Expectations are high, with Target and Ross Stores also reporting this week, offering more details on how well spending by U.S. households is holding up amid still-high inflation.
