WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday, giving back ground following the upward move seen in the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the downside, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 pulling back off yesterday's record closing highs.
Currently, the major averages are off their lows of the session but still in negative territory. The Nasdaq is down 101.44 points or 0.4 percent at 22,840.23, the S&P 500 is down 18.87 points or 0.3 percent at 6,721.41 and the Dow is down 65.73 points or 0.1 percent at 46,629.24.
The moderate weakness on Wall Street may partly reflect profit taking following recent strength in the markets, which saw the S&P 500 close higher for seven straight sessions.
Lingering concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown may also be generating some selling pressure, although traders have largely shrugged off the suspension of non-essential government operations in recent sessions.
Lawmakers in Washington continue to struggle to pass a temporary funding bill due in part to Democrats' demands that the legislation include an extension of enhanced Obamacare tax credits.
The shutdown has also led to the indefinite delay of key U.S. economic data, including the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report that was due to be released last Friday.
The lack of data has led to some uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates, although the Federal Reserve is still widely expected to cut rates by another quarter point later this month.
Remarks by several Fed officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, this week along with the release of the minutes of the central bank's latest meeting may shed additional light on the outlook for rates.
Sector News
Housing stocks are turning in some of the market's worst performances on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 2.5 percent to its lowest intraday level in well over a month.
Considerable weakness has also emerged among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. The index is pulling back further off the record closing high set last Friday.
Airline, oil producer and software stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while some strength is visible among utilities stocks.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a lackluster performance on Tuesday, with several markets closed for holidays. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index ended the day just above the unchanged line, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are seeing modest strength on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is just above the unchanged line, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground following the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.5 basis points at 4.137 percent.
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