In New York, the Nasdaq soared to a new record while the Dow retreated
Global stock markets diverged Tuesday as many investors sat on their hands ahead of a flurry of US economic data releases and tech earnings.
In New York, the Nasdaq soared to a new record while the Dow retreated. Bourses closed mostly down in Europe.
Shares of Google parent Alphabet gained in after-hours trading following its earnings report, which will be succeeded later this week by releases from Apple, Microsoft and others.
Tech stocks are catching a bid, said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management, adding that there had been “more good news than bad” Tuesday.
Hogan pointed to another drop in oil prices as supportive for stock prices, and noted that US Treasury bond yields were stable.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index climbed sharply to 108.7 in October, up from a revised 99.2 last month, another positive for stocks.
The US government will release third quarter GDP growth estimates Wednesday, as well as inflation data Thursday. The monthly labour market report is due Friday.
Together, they should provide more clues about the health of the country’s economy and the direction of its central banks’ interest rate policy.
Yields on 10-year US Treasuries have picked up to above 4.3% this week, the highest since early July, suggesting that some market participants are increasingly counting on more limited rate cuts from the central bank.
London, Paris and Frankfurt markets all ended lower Tuesday while Asian markets closed mixed.
Oil prices initially recovered some of Monday’s losses after the US government said it would add to its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but then resumed their recent decline on expectations of a coming over-supply.
In Asia, Tokyo and Hong Kong stocks jumped but Shanghai and Singapore pulled back.
