S&P 500 Reaches New Record Closing High But Dow Gives Back Ground

(RTTNews) - Stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Tuesday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged after ending Monday's trading modestly higher. Despite the choppy trading, the S&P 500 reached a new record closing high.

The major averages eventually ended the session narrowly mixed. While the Dow dipped 96.36 points or 0.3 percent to 37,905.45, the Nasdaq climbed 65.66 points or 0.4 percent to 15,425.94 and the S&P 500 rose 14.17 points or 0.3 percent to 4,864.60.

The choppy trading on Wall Street partly reflected a mixed reaction to the latest earnings news from several big-name companies.

The Dow pulled back off yesterday's record closing high amid a steep drop by shares of 3M (MMM), with the conglomerate plunging by 11.0 percent after reporting better than expected fourth quarter earnings but providing disappointing guidance.

Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) also moved to the downside despite reporting better than expected fourth quarter results.

Meanwhile, shares of Verizon (VZ) moved sharply higher after the telecom giant reported fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble (PG) also surged after reporting better than expected fiscal second quarter earnings.

Streaming giant Netflix (NFLX) and chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results after the close of trading.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of several key U.S. economic reports in the coming days.

Sector News

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.

Airline stocks showed a substantial move to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 3.0 percent.

United Airlines (UAL) helped lead the sector higher, spiking by 5.3 percent after reporting fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Gold stocks also turned in a strong performance amid a modest increase by the price of the precious metal, as reflected by the 2.3 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

On the other hand, housing stocks moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 4.4 percent.

Shares of D.R. Horton (DHI) plunged by 9.2 percent after the homebuilder reported fiscal first quarter earnings below analyst estimates.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday, although Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the uptrend and edged down by 0.1 percent. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.5 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged by 2.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets saw modest weakness on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both dipped by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries moved back to the downside following the rebound seen on Monday. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 4.8 basis points to 4.142 percent.

Looking Ahead

Amid another quiet day on the U.S. economic front, trading on Wednesday may continue to be driven by reaction to the latest earnings news.