Stocks close mixed in uneven trading
Stock indexes on Wall Street closed mixed Tuesday, as investors focus on a busy week of corporate earnings for insight into how much damage inflation is inflicting on the economy.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, ending a four-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%, mostly because of a big drop in Goldman Sachs after the investment bank’s results came in far below analysts’ estimates as dealmaking dried up.
Gains in technology stocks helped the Nasdaq composite eke out a 0.1% gain, extending the techheavy index’s winning streak to a seventh day.
The mixed start to the holiday-shortened week follows a solid start to the year for Wall Street after a dismal 2022. The broader market is coming off its best week in two months, but investor sentiment could quickly turn as companies report their results for the October-December quarter.
Analysts still expect companies in the S&P 500 to report a drop in profits for the fourth quarter from a year earlier. That would mark the first such decline since 2020, when the pandemic was crushing the economy.
More importantly, investors are listening closely to financial updates from companies to get better determine whether inflation will continue squeezing consumers’ wallets.
Several banks reported encouraging financial results last week, but also said a mild recession is likely on the horizon for the U.S. economy. Among the companies reporting their latest results this week: Netflix, M&T Bank and Procter & Gamble.
Goldman Sachs slumped 6.4% Tuesday after the investment bank reported dismal results.
Big communications companies, health care stocks and industrial firms were among the biggest weights on the market. Netflix fell 2%, Pfizer dropped 3.7% and Emerson Electric slid 6.8% for the biggest decline among S&P 500 stocks.
Technology sector stocks were a bright spot. Chipmaker Nvidia rose 4.8%.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 8.12 points to 3,990.97. The Dow dopped 391.76 points to 33,910.85. The Nasdaq rose 15.96 points to 11,095.11.