US stock market: Dow Jones, Nasdaq, S&P 500 end lower amid mixed earnings; Wall Street focus on Q2 earnings

Wall Street’s main indexes closed slightly lower on Tuesday, erasing modest intraday gains in the final moments of trading, as investors weighed mixed earnings reports and monitored the rapidly evolving US presidential race.

The S&P 500 declined by 8.67 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 5,555.74 points, while the Nasdaq Composite fell by 10.22 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 17,997.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 57.35 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 40,358.09.

Market movers

In individual company news, UPS plummeted by more than 12.1 per cent after reporting lower profits and revenues, along with reducing some annual projections. GM saw a decrease of 6.4 per cent despite reporting profits that exceeded estimates, with analysts pointing to the automaker’s significant share appreciation prior to the report and weaknesses in its China operations.

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Nvidia exerted the most downward pressure on the S&P 500. Although its 0.8 per cent loss for the day was relatively modest, Nvidia’s substantial market capitalisation, valued at over $3 trillion, gives it more weight in the index.

Conversely, Spotify surged by 12 per cent following its announcement of seven million new paid subscribers in the second quarter, surpassing forecasts after a price increase. GE Aerospace rose by 5.7 per cent after beating analysts’ profit expectations for the spring and raising its earnings forecast for the entire year.

Investor attention shifted to the latest earnings from Google’s parent company Alphabet and Tesla, both of which reported positive revenue figures for the second quarter after the market closed. These companies are part of the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks.

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Interest rates and bond yields in focus

With inflation slowing, the general expectation on Wall Street is for the Federal Reserve to begin lowering its main interest rate in September. This potential move would provide some relief to both the economy and financial markets after the Fed maintained the federal funds rate at its highest level in over two decades.

Treasury yields have declined since the spring on such expectations, remaining below their peak levels reached in April. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 4.25 per cent, the same as in late Monday trading.

With inputs from agencies