Wall Street took a breather on Tuesday, with the major U.S. stock indices trading near the flatline or showing slight declines during midday trading in New York as investors closely await a series of relevant earnings reports and crucial economic data slated for the remainder of the week.

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 remained stable at their respective all-time highs, while the Dow experienced a slight decrease of 0.4%. Small caps, as represented by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM), weakened by 0.7%.

The dollar and Treasury yields moved higher, likely exerting some resistance on the stock market’s rally. The likelihood of a Fed rate cut in March has decreased to 40% and traders now anticipate a total of five rate cuts, down from six, by December 2024.

With yields rising across various Treasury maturities, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) declined by 1.1%.

Chinese stocks traded in New York saw a strong jump as Beijing announced measures totaling $278 billion to stabilize the country’s troubled stock market. Both Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) and Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) rose 6.7%, while electric vehicle maker NIO Inc. (NASDAQ:NIO) gained 4.5%.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) remained relatively flat, after reaching intraday lows at $38,550, while gold experienced a slight increase of 0.3%.

Tuesday’s Performance In US Major Indices, ETFs

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) held steady at $483.31, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) fell 0.5% to $378.22 and the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) was unchanged at $421.69, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Sector-wise, the Consumer Staples Select Sector Fund (NYSE:XLP) outperformed, up 0.9%. The Real Estate Select Sector Fund (NYSE:XLRE) fell the most, down 0.7%.

Tuesday’s Stock Movers

• Shares of United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) rose more than 6% after the company’s strong earnings and revenue results last quarter. The airline released weak guidance for the first quarter after the Boeing 737 Max groundings.
• Other companies reacting to earnings were Verizon Communication Inc. (NYSE:VZ), up 5.4%, and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) up 4.4% after earnings and revenue topped estimates.
• 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) sank more than 11% after the company’s full-year outlook disappointed. General Electric (NYSE:GE) fell nearly 1% after disclosing weaker-than-expected guidance.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) fell 1.5% despite an earnings and revenue beat, while Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) fell over 4% as the company’s CEO announced that profits from F-35 sales could weaken into the third quarter amid global supply chain disruptions.
• Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) was flat ahead of its earnings release, scheduled after market close. The streaming giant secured WWE rights from January 2025, striking a $5-billion agreement with TKO Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE:TKO), which rose 13%.
• Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) and Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) will also report after the closing bell.

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