US close: Markets mixed as government reopens

Wall Street finished mixed on Tuesday, after Senators from both sides of the aisle agreed on a temporary deal to end the three-day government shutdown, with a surge in Netflix stock propelling the tech-heavy Nasdaq gauge to a record high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session down 0.01% at 26,210.81, while the S&P 500 was ahead 0.22% at 2,839.13 and the Nasdaq 100 added 0.83% to 6,963.46.

As expected, the Senate did agree a deal after the close of markets on Monday that would keep the government running up to 8 February.

Helping to boost sentiment, strategists at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch raised their year-end 2018 target for the S&P 500 from 2,800 points to 3,000.

"While 2017 saw building optimism, 2018 may be the year of euphoria,” the strategists said in their report.

“While valuations have overshot fair value, sentiment is likely to be the most important driver of returns − typical of late-stage bull markets.”

They added that pullbacks of at least 5% pullbacks historically occur three times per year, asserting that there could be an opportunity to buy the market 5-10% off its highs.

In corporate news, shares of video streaming service provider Netflix surged for much of the session, pushing its valuation past $100bn for the first time as it touched a new 52-week high.

Overnight, the company said it had signed up 8.33 million customers in the fourth quarter, beating expectations of 6.34 million, with its worldwide customer base now totalling 117.6 million.

Its shares ended the session up 9.98%.

Stock in Johnson & Johnson was moving lower on the other hand, losing 4.26% even after the healthcare and consumer goods giant posted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations.

Verizon Communications finished down 0.41%, having earlier moved higher on the heels of its fourth-quarter numbers.

Property and casualty insurer Travelers Companies was in focus, rising 5.03% after it posted a 42% drop in quarterly profit on the back of catastrophe losses from the California wildfires.

Procter & Gamble fell 3.07% by end-of-play after the consumer group's quarterly earnings beat analysts' forecasts, though it was marginally up in after-hours action.

Dow Jones - Risers

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $146.23 4.96%
General Electric Co. (GE) $16.89 4.45%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $166.25 2.24%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $67.14 1.13%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $42.10 1.06%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $61.70 0.73%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.06 0.68%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $245.24 0.68%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $136.03 0.61%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $105.90 0.43%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $141.83 -4.26%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $89.02 -3.09%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $131.02 -1.16%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $169.43 -0.85%
Boeing Co. (BA) $335.59 -0.71%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $110.41 -0.62%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $260.09 -0.55%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $53.22 -0.43%
3M Co. (MMM) $246.24 -0.40%
American Express Co. (AXP) $97.99 -0.35%

S&P 500 - Risers

Mattel Inc. (MAT) $17.76 10.38%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $250.29 9.98%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $146.23 4.96%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $17.33 4.71%
General Electric Co. (GE) $16.89 4.45%
Macerich Co (MAC) $68.87 4.33%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.55 4.33%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $94.56 4.07%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $27.54 3.97%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $16.70 3.86%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $8.09 -5.16%
SCANA Corp. (SCG) $41.16 -5.07%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $141.83 -4.26%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $89.02 -3.09%
Allstate Corp (The) (ALL) $101.25 -3.05%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $36.30 -2.42%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $25.70 -2.39%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $24.50 -2.35%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $19.55 -2.20%
Progressive Corp. (PGR) $57.05 -2.01%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $250.29 9.98%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $94.56 4.07%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $166.58 2.88%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $215.07 2.81%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $1,362.54 2.65%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $43.95 2.50%
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,962.94 2.46%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $238.91 2.23%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $189.35 2.15%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $272.16 1.89%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $44.83 -2.84%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $228.79 -2.65%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $46.85 -1.66%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $116.81 -1.34%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $37.16 -1.14%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $57.10 -1.09%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $42.44 -1.05%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $242.94 -0.92%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $35.30 -0.81%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $42.95 -0.67%