Wall Street mixed amid focus on US retail earnings

Perth Now

a day ago

The blue-chip Dow is just shy of a record high as Home Depot shares gained after the retailer kept its annual forecasts intact while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were subdued ahead of a Federal Reserve conference later in the week.
Home Depot rose 4.6 per cent despite missing quarterly results estimates while rival home-improvement chain Lowe's gained 2.7 per cent in early trading.
Earnings from Lowe's and big-box retailers Walmart and Target later this week are now in focus as investors await more insight on the health of US consumers.
Consumer spending accounts for about 70 per cent of the total US economy and traders are keen to know the effect US tariffs have had on corporate forecasts and individual expenditure.
Last week, data showed the levies dented consumer confidence in July.
On the policy front, remarks from Fed vice chair for supervision Michelle Bowman are due later in the day.
Bowman, who is under consideration for the US central bank's top job when chair Jerome Powell's term ends next year, has voiced support for at least three interest rate cuts this year, in line with President Donald Trump's calls for lower borrowing costs.
Interest rate futures point to a total of two rate cuts this year worth 25 basis points each, with the first expected in September, according to data compiled by LSEG.
"People are a bit hesitant to spend right now with the level of interest rates and some of the uncertainty created by inflation," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.
"Until they get clarity, hopefully in the form of fewer tariff hikes and maybe some interest rate cuts, we're probably stuck in this bit of malaise."
In early trading on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 140.08 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 45,051.90, the S&P 500 lost 3.55 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 6,445.79 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 88.99 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 21,540.78.
Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors edged up.
Real estate led with a 1.2 per cent rise, helped by better-than-expected housing data.
Technology stocks pressured the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq the most, cooling from a nearly 15 per cent rally this year.
Wall Street's main indexes have recovered since their April lows, when trade uncertainty stuck global markets, and have picked up steam following a better-than-expected earnings season and on the rate-cut expectations.
The key event this week is the Fed's annual symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, from August 21-23, where Powell's comments will be scrutinised for any clues on the central bank's outlook on the economy and monetary policy.
Intel jumped 10 per cent to hit its highest since March after the chipmaker got a $US2 billion ($A3.1 billion) capital injection from Japan's SoftBank Group.
Palo Alto Networks surged 4.8 per cent after the cybersecurity company forecast fiscal 2026 revenue and profit above estimates.
Medtronic lost 4.3 per cent.
The company said it would add two new directors to its board after Elliott Investment Management took a large stake in the medical-device maker.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.71-to-1 ratio on the NYSE.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.03-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted five new 52-week highs and one new low while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 33 new highs and 24 new lows.