Dow Jones Today: Major Stock Indexes Slightly Higher in Late Trading as Investors Await Big Tech Earnings

Major U.S. stock indexes were slightly higher in late-afternoon trading Tuesday as investors digested a flurry of earnings reports and awaited quarterly results from mega-cap companies after the close.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were each up about 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%. Major indexes closed sharply higher Monday as large-cap technology stocks recovered from a steep selloff last week.

Several companies were on the move after reporting earnings early Tuesday. Shares of Spotify (SPOT), GE Aerospace (GE) and Danaher (DHR) were up sharply, while United Parcel Service (UPS), Comcast (CMCSA) and General Motors (GM) tumbled.

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) were moving lower, while Alphabet (GOOGL) rose slightly. The two tech giants are due to report their quarterly results after the closing bell.

Tech stocks have been volatile in recent weeks as investors have rotated into small-cap stocks amid expectations that smaller companies stand to benefit most from widely expected interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in the coming months. The Russell 2000 small-cap index was up nearly 1% on Tuesday.

Market participants are closely watching economic data releases for confirmation that economic activity is slowing and inflation remains under control, which Fed officials say they need to see before cutting the benchmark fed funds rate. The economic data calendar is light Tuesday, but picks up later in the week with the release of second-quarter GDP and inflation numbers for June.

10-year Treasury yields were down slightly at around 4.24%, after hitting their highest level in two weeks on Monday. Gold prices were up slightly, while crude oil fell about 1.3%.

NXP Shares Tumble on Weak Guidance

3 minutes ago

Shares in NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) tumbled Tuesday after the Dutch-based chipmaker issued a weaker-than-expected current quarter outlook amid a slowdown in spending by automotive customers and rising geopolitical risks.

This image depicts the NXPI chart. — Source: TradingView.com.

NXP shares have oscillated within a rising wedge over the past twelve months, a chart pattern that typically occurs after an uptrend and signals a potential reversal in a security's price.

Looking ahead, investors should monitor the $248 level, an area where the price will likely find support from the rising wedge’s lower trendline.

The stock was down 8.5% at $259.71 in recent trading, making it one of the biggest decliners on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite.

Read the full technical analysis here.

-Timothy Smith

Spotify Pops on Strong Earnings

1 hr 44 min ago

Spotify (SPOT) shares soared Tuesday after the streaming audio company posted quarterly earnings that surpassed analysts' expectations.

The company also announced third-quarter revenue projections that were in line with market expectations.

The growth was driven in part by Spotify’s premium subscriber base, which increased 12% year-over-year to 246 million. The growth in Premium subscribers comes as the service’s price is increasing this month.

Spotify shares were up 11% in recent trading, at their highest level since early 2021.

Spotify 5-year stock price chart — TradingView

-Andrew Kessel

Interest in Small-Caps Continues to Surge

2 hr 53 min ago

The Russell 2000 is on the move higher again Tuesday, outpacing the gains for major stock indexes.

The morning's trading follows a surge in interest in smaller shares. DataTrek Research said in a note Monday that, based on Google Trends, searches for "IWM"—the iShares Russell 2000 exchange-traded fund—recently jumped to multiyear highs.

That comes as the index itself has climbed lately, outperforming the S&P 500 over the past month and, according to Goldman Sachs research, posting its best performance against the Nasdaq 100 since 2002 in a recent two-week period.

Russell 2000 vs S&P 500 over the past month — TradingView

Some of their recent rise can be attributed to investors' belief that interest-rate cuts are on the horizon, since lower rates can benefit smaller companies that often carry more debt than their larger counterparts. Second-quarter earnings, however, could take some steam out of smaller shares if they point toward a weaker second half—especially, perhaps, if big companies turn in stronger results.

DataTrek believes small caps can continue to perform. "When that interest and capital flows to an entire segment of the market, we have trouble dismissing it outright as a fad," its note read. "No doubt U.S. small caps will be volatile over the next few months, but we still believe they can do well" over the balance of the third quarter.

-David Marino-Nachison

GE Aerospace Jumps on Strong Earnings, Guidance Boost

4 hr 14 min ago

GE Aerospace (GE) shares jumped in early trading Tuesday after the company's second-quarter results exceeded expectations as orders surged.

The aerospace parts maker posted a 4% increase in revenue to $9.1 billion, while net income came in at $1.4 billion.

The company now projects a full-year operating profit between $6.5 billion and $6.8 billion, up from the previous range of $6.2 billion to $6.6 billion. Earnings per share are seen in a range of $3.95 to $4.20, compared to the previous range of $3.80 to $4.05.

Analysts have said that GE Aerospace could be well-positioned to benefit from the growth of the aerospace industry, and that the company's wide array of products and customers could allow it to weather production difficulties experienced by any one company like Boeing (BA).

The other two former General Electric divisions, GE Vernova (GEV) and GE HealthCare (GEHC), report earnings Wednesday and next week, respectively.

GE stock price chart over the past year — TradingView

GE Aerospace shares were up more than 8% in mid-morning trading. The stock has gained nearly 75% since the start of the year.

-Aaron McDade

Spot Ether ETFs Start Trading Tuesday

4 hr 45 min ago

Nine spot ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds started trading on U.S. exchanges today. They can be found on Nasdaq, NYSE Arca, and Cboe BZX.

The spot ether ETFs are intended to offer exposure to the price of the ether held by the funds. Ether is the underlying cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, the second-largest crypto network when measured by market cap.

Buyers of the ETFs are purchasing shares of funds that hold ether on behalf of their shareholders. Different spot ether ETFs use different sources of data when it comes to pricing ether.

Read more here about the launch of spot ether ETFs.

-Kyle Torpey

UPS Shares Plunge to 4-Year Low After Earnings

5 hr 40 min ago

Shares of United Parcel Service (UPS) tumbled in early trading Tuesday after the shipping giant reported disappointing second-quarter earnings amid a continued pullback from pandemic highs for package deliveries.

Revenue from the company's shipping operations fell just over 1% from the same time last year to $21.8 billion, while net income dropped 32% to $1.41 billion. The top and bottom lines both fell short of analysts' expectations.

UPS now projects full year revenue of $93 billion, compared to a previously projected range of $92 billion to $94.5 billion. The company also lowered projections for its adjusted operating margin to roughly 9.4% for the year, below previous projections of 10% to 10.6%.

UPS shares were down 12%, leading S&P 500 decliners, trading at their lowest level in four years.