US close: Markets finish lower as tech stocks decline
Wall Street's main market gauges finished lower on Tuesday, led lower by the technology sector as investor confidence on the Republicans' ability to pass tax cut plans this week stagnated.
Dow Jones I.A.
38,239.66
04:30 15/10/20
Nasdaq 100
17,718.30
12:15 26/04/24
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.15% at 24,754.75, the S&P 500 lost 0.32% to 2,681.47, and the Nasdaq 100 was 0.5% softer at 6,480.67.
On Monday, the Nasdaq, Dow Jones and S&P 500 all notched record highs again, with the Nasdaq crossing the 7,000 level for the first time in intraday trading as investors bet that the US tax reform bill would be passed this week after critics of the reforms, Marco Rubio and Bob Corker, said they would back the plans.
“Tax reform was one of the key initiatives that contributed to Donald Trump’s election victory last year as he vowed to revitalise a sluggish US economy,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.
“While it may have taken longer to deliver than he expected, it would appear that Republicans determination to give Americans an early Christmas present has paid off, although there has been numerous debates about who actually stands to benefit most from the bill.”
On the economic front, the Commerce Department reported that America's current account deficit shrank by 19% over the three months to September, from $124.4bn to $100.6bn.
Housing starts jumped by 3.3% month-on-month to reach an annualised pace of 1.297m in November, ahead of consensus expectations for 1.250m, according to the Census Bureau, which was up from a downwardly revised pace of 1.256m for October.
New home sales for October had originally been pegged at 1.290m.
In corporate news, shares of Navistar International surged 7.47% following the release of its fourth-quarter earnings.
Stock in Tenet Healthcare rose 1.9% after the firm said it would boost its cost-cutting programme.
Nevertheless, the company's guided towards earnings per share in a range between $1.07 and $1.36 for the full year 2018, which was well below the $1.40 anticipated by analysts.
Elsewhere, Kindred Healthcare was off 3.7% after it agreed to be taken over by three companies - Humana, TPG Capital, and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe - for roughly $4.1bn in cash.
Cruise ship operator Carnival was ahead 2.3% on the heels of better-than-expected sales and earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter.
Dow Jones - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.04 1.69%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $98.80 0.92%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $150.91 0.76%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $111.81 0.70%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $185.99 0.68%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $46.13 0.44%
Boeing Co. (BA) $297.17 0.37%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $135.54 0.24%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $119.82 0.12%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $126.78 0.06%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $256.48 -1.36%
Visa Inc. (V) $112.15 -1.24%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $174.54 -1.07%
General Electric Co. (GE) $17.59 -0.96%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $64.24 -0.88%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.80 -0.79%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $85.83 -0.64%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $82.44 -0.60%
American Express Co. (AXP) $99.17 -0.53%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $36.94 -0.51%
S&P 500 - Risers
Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) $96.68 6.79%
Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc (ZBH) $121.40 6.07%
Alcoa Corporation (AA) $46.52 4.38%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $29.84 3.83%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $16.02 3.82%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $27.23 3.58%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $100.90 3.07%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $59.60 2.78%
TEGNA Inc (TGNA) $14.45 2.41%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $54.85 2.35%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $7.44 -9.27%
PPL Corp. (PPL) $32.42 -4.56%
Welltower Inc (HCN) $64.48 -4.25%
Ventas Inc. (VTR) $61.82 -3.98%
ProLogis (PLD) $63.38 -3.77%
HCP Inc. (HCP) $26.10 -3.26%
Signet Jewelers Ltd (SIG) $53.26 -3.04%
Allegion (ALLE) $80.07 -3.02%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $99.73 -2.90%
Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM) $18.32 -2.86%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $157.65 3.85%
Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $26.23 3.23%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $42.97 3.10%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $54.85 2.35%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $227.47 2.16%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $71.49 1.90%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.04 1.69%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $95.02 1.56%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $78.54 1.26%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $329.28 0.97%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $48.47 -2.77%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $331.10 -2.29%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $235.62 -2.20%
Liberty Interactive Corporation - Series A Liberty Ventures (LVNTA) $55.98 -2.10%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $188.33 -2.07%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $5.32 -2.03%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $105.39 -1.94%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $316.97 -1.94%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $90.85 -1.89%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $42.18 -1.88%