NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were muted on Tuesday while the Dow notched a fresh record high as investors digested corporate earnings and retail sales figures that kicked off a slew of economic datasets due to be released through the week.
The S&P 500 communication services sector fell, dragged by a 1.8 percent decline in Alphabet’s shares. The Google-parent said it
sold bonds worth USD20 billion in a seven-part offering.
A handful of recent megacap results exacerbated investor worries over Big Tech’s ambitious capex plans, with Amazon , Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft collectively poised to spend around USD650 billion in the race for AI dominance.
Meanwhile, retail sales were unexpectedly unchanged in December, putting consumer spending and the overall economy on a slower growth path heading into the new year. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.4 percent increase.
“The retail sales data that’s come out below expectations… (is) indicating that maybe the economy wasn’t as strong as people expected going through the fourth quarter,” said Charlie Ripley, vice president of portfolio management at Allianz Investment Management.
This week, the delayed nonfarm payrolls numbers will be in focus, followed by crucial inflation data that could influence expectations for the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy trajectory.
US job gains could be lower in the coming months because of slower labor force growth and higher productivity due to AI gains, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday.
Markets currently expect the central bank to keep rates on hold until June, when President Donald Trump’s Fed chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, could take charge, pending US Senate confirmation.
At 11:53 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 237.47 points, or 0.47 percent, to 50,373.34, the S&P 500 gained 2.56 points, or 0.04 percent, to 6,967.38, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 18.64 points, or 0.08 percent, to 23,220.03.
Gains in Goldman Sachs and Home Depot propelled the blue-chip Dow to a fresh peak, offsetting a 2.2 percent decline in Coca-Cola after the company missed Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter revenue.