U.S. Stocks Close Mixed As Early Buying Interest Fades

(RTTNews) - After failing to sustain an early move to the upside, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Tuesday before eventually ending the session mixed.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq managed to end the day modestly higher, the Dow and the S&P 500 once again fell to their lowest closing levels since late 2020.

The Nasdaq bounced back and forth across the unchanged line in afternoon trading before closing up 26.58 points or 0.3 percent to 10,829.50.

Meanwhile, the Dow fell 125.82 points or 0.4 percent to 29,134.99 after surging by nearly 400 points in early trading, while the S&P 500 edged down 7.75 points or 0.2 percent to 3,647.29.

Bargain hunting contributed to the early rebound on Wall Street, as traders picked up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness.

Buying interest waned over the course of the morning, however, as concerns about higher interest rates and the outlook for the global economy continued to weigh on the markets.

The subsequent pullback by stocks came as treasury yields once again surged after an initial move to the downside, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note reaching its highest levels in over twelve years.

A turnaround by the value of the U.S. dollar also led to renewed selling pressure on Wall Street amid concerns about the impact on corporate profits.

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed a modest decrease in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of August.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders slipped by 0.2 percent in August after edging down by 0.1 percent in July. Economists had expected durable goods orders to decrease by 0.4 percent.

Excluding a steep drop in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders inched up by 0.2 percent in August, matching the uptick seen in July as well as economist estimates.

Meanwhile, a separate Commerce Department report unexpectedly showed a substantial rebound in new home sales in the month of August.

The report showed new home sales skyrocketed by 28.8 percent to an annual rate of 685,000 in August after plunging by 8.6 percent to a revised rate of 532,000 in July.

The surge surprised economists, who had expected new home sales to slump by 2.2 percent to an annual rate of 500,000 from the 511,000 originally reported for the previous month.

The sharp increase came after new home sales tumbled to their lowest annual rate since hitting 532,000 in March 2016.

The Conference Board also released a report showing a bigger than expected improvement in consumer confidence in the month of September.

The organization said its consumer confidence index climbed to 108.0 in September from an upwardly revised 103.6 in August.

Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to inch up to 104.3 from the 103.2 originally reported for the previous month.

Sector News

Interest rate-sensitive utilities stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the Dow Jones Utility Average down by 2.0 percent to a three-month closing low.

Substantial weakness also emerged among tobacco stocks, as reflected by the 2.0 percent plunge by the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index. The index tumbled to its lowest closing level in well over two years.

Commercial real estate and banking stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while steel stocks rallied, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 1.9 percent.

Energy stocks also saw significant strength amid a rebound by the price of crude oil. With crude for November delivery jumping $1.79 to $78.50 a barrel, the NYSE Arca Oil Index and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index both advance by 1.5 percent.

Computer hardware and semiconductor stocks also regained ground following recent weakness, contributing to the uptick by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.5 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index surged by 1.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index slid by 0.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries pulled back sharply after seeing initial strength. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped 8.6 basis points to a twelve-year closing high of 3.964 percent after hitting a low of 3.809 percent.

Looking Ahead

A report on pending home sales may attract attention on Wednesday, while traders are also likely to keep an eye on remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.