NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged higher in afternoon trade on Wall Street on Tuesday as investors scrutinized the latest corporate earnings for clues about the continued impact of inflation.
The S&P 500 index was up 0.4% at 12:59 p.m. EST. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 56 points, or 0.2%, to 32,743 and the Nasdaq rose 1%.
Tech stocks rebounded from early losses and helped lift the broader market. Chipmaker Nvidia rose 2.3%.
Health care companies also made solid gains. Intuitive Surgical jumped 7.1%.
The 10-year Treasury yield jumped to 2.70% from 2.61% Monday night.
Corporate earnings remain a priority for investors as they try to assess the health of the economy amid record inflation, rising interest rates and recession fears.
Ride-sharing company Uber jumped 17.3% after reporting surprisingly strong second-quarter revenue. Construction equipment maker Caterpillar fell 3.6% after the economic barometer reported disappointing second-quarter earnings. Starbucks delivers its results later Tuesday.
Companies in the benchmark S&P 500 reported generally strong earnings, but many are also warning of falling customer spending and rising costs due to ongoing supply chain issues. Companies have hiked the prices of everything from food to clothing to maintain profits.
Consumers are also pressured by gasoline prices. While prices have been falling recently, US crude oil prices are still up about 25% this year.
Central banks have attempted to contain inflation by raising interest rates to slow economic growth. The Federal Reserve’s main short-term interest rate is at its highest level since 2018. That has raised fears on Wall Street that the Fed could go too far and tip the economy into a recession.
Government data last week showed the US economy contracted in the second quarter, suggesting it may already be in a recession. Retail sales and other economic data show consumers are cutting back on spending. But recession fears were eased by reports of strong employment.
The Labor Department reported Tuesday that U.S. employers posted fewer job openings in June as the economy grapples with runaway inflation and rising interest rates. Openings are still high at 10.7 million. The labor market has held up well this year and companies have complained about the difficulty in filling vacancies: employers added an average of 457,000 jobs per month in 2022; and unemployment is near its lowest level in 50 years.
The Labor Department’s jobs report for July, released on Friday, is expected to show employers added 250,000 more jobs last month.
AP Economics Writer Paul Wiseman contributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Comments are closed.