U.S. Stocks Drift Around Record Levels as Wall Street Prepares for Quiet Day
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are hovering around their record levels on Tuesday, with Wall Street gearing up for another quiet day of trading.
The S&P 500 was down 0.1% in early trading, just below its record set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower after hitting its latest all-time high.
The market has been buoyed by expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this year as inflation hopefully cools. Additionally, strong earnings reports from major U.S. companies have contributed to the market’s positive momentum.
Palo Alto Networks reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but its stock slumped 6.2% after giving a revenue forecast for the current quarter that fell slightly below expectations. Lowe’s also reported better-than-expected results for the latest quarter, but its stock sank 2.6% as it maintained its revenue forecast for the year.
Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Donald Trump’s Truth Social network, fell 2.8% after disclosing a net loss of $327.6 million in its first quarterly report as a publicly traded company.
On the positive side, Macy’s saw a 3% climb in its stock after reporting resilient results for the latest quarter and raising its forecasts for upcoming sales and profit.
The Federal Reserve has been keeping interest rates high to combat inflation, which has made borrowing more expensive for consumers. However, recent reports suggest that inflation may be heading back in the right direction, raising hopes for a potential “soft landing” for the economy.
Treasury yields have fallen as hopes for Fed rate cuts have increased, easing pressure on the stock market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.40% from 4.48% late Monday.
Looking ahead, upcoming profit reports from companies like Nvidia, Target, and Ross Stores will likely drive market movements. In international markets, indexes were lower across much of Europe and Asia, with Hong Kong and Shanghai experiencing declines after a forecast for Chinese economic growth was raised.
Overall, investors are cautiously optimistic as they await further developments in the market.
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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
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