AIRLINK 62.48 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (3.39%)
BOP 5.36 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.19%)
CNERGY 4.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.43%)
DFML 15.50 Increased By ▲ 0.66 (4.45%)
DGKC 66.40 Increased By ▲ 1.60 (2.47%)
FCCL 17.59 Increased By ▲ 0.73 (4.33%)
FFBL 27.70 Increased By ▲ 2.95 (11.92%)
FFL 9.27 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (2.32%)
GGL 10.06 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1%)
HBL 105.70 Increased By ▲ 1.49 (1.43%)
HUBC 122.30 Increased By ▲ 4.78 (4.07%)
HUMNL 6.60 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.92%)
KEL 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.1%)
KOSM 4.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.97%)
MLCF 36.20 Increased By ▲ 0.79 (2.23%)
OGDC 122.92 Increased By ▲ 0.53 (0.43%)
PAEL 23.00 Increased By ▲ 1.09 (4.97%)
PIAA 29.34 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (7.51%)
PIBTL 5.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-2.36%)
PPL 107.50 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.12%)
PRL 27.25 Increased By ▲ 0.74 (2.79%)
PTC 18.07 Increased By ▲ 1.97 (12.24%)
SEARL 53.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-1.17%)
SNGP 63.21 Increased By ▲ 2.01 (3.28%)
SSGC 10.80 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.47%)
TELE 9.20 Increased By ▲ 0.71 (8.36%)
TPLP 11.44 Increased By ▲ 0.86 (8.13%)
TRG 70.86 Increased By ▲ 0.95 (1.36%)
UNITY 23.62 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.47%)
WTL 1.28 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 6,944 Increased By 65.8 (0.96%)
BR30 22,827 Increased By 258.6 (1.15%)
KSE100 67,142 Increased By 594.3 (0.89%)
KSE30 22,090 Increased By 175.1 (0.8%)

NEW YORK: US stocks treaded water in a tight range in late morning trading on Tuesday as a rise in technology stocks, led by Apple, was offset by losses in consumer staples and healthcare companies.

The Nasdaq Composite eked out another record high, before easing, with investors holding off from making big bets as the two-day Federal Reserve meeting kicked off.

The Fed is widely expected to stand pat on interest rates, but investors are awaiting the central bank's statement on Wednesday for hints on the possibility of a rate hike in June.

Weighing on sentiment was US automakers reporting a fall in new vehicle sales for April. Ford dropped 3.8 percent, while General Motors fell 3.3 percent.

"I think the auto sales numbers have caused the market to take a step back," said Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"I think people are reading too much into that. There's a fear that is building on last quarter's GDP numbers that the consumer is pulling back, which we don't think is the case."

Data last week showed the US economy grew at its slowest pace in three years in the first quarter. But, Schutte said strong corporate earnings have helped hold the market up.

"With earnings rising, that is backdrop for positive stock returns moving forward."

Overall, profits at S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 13.9 percent in the first quarter, the most since 2011, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

At 11:02 a.m. EDT (1502 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 21.62 points, or 0.1 percent, at 20,935.08.

The S&P 500 was down 0.18 points, or 0.00 percent, at 2,388.15 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.78 points, or 0.01 percent, at 6,090.82.

Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, with the consumer staples index's 0.48 percent fall leading the decliners.

CVS Health was down 2.8 percent at $79.80, while Archer Daniels Midland fell 1.9 percent to $42.08, after reporting results.

Dow component Pfizer was down 1.5 percent at $33.29 after the drugmaker's quarterly revenue missed estimates, pulling down the healthcare index, which fell 0.3 percent.

The technology sector was up 0.33 percent. Apple hit a record high for the second straight day. The iPhone maker is due to report results after the close of market.

Advanced Micro Devices tumbled 17.3 percent to $11.26 after the chipmaker's second-quarter gross margins forecast raised some concerns.

Coach rose as much as 11 percent to a nine-month high of $43 after the handbag maker reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,371 to 1,369. On the Nasdaq, 1,576 issues fell and 1,063 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed 37 new 52-week highs and seven new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 111 new highs and 32 new lows.

 

Copyright Reuters, 2017
 

Comments

Comments are closed.