Nasdaq hits new closing high as other stock indexes eke out gains
Stocks gave up early gains but ended in positive territory Tuesday, with the Nasdaq hitting a new all-time closing high.
The Nasdaq composite ended up 0.2%, a gain of about 11 points to its new record of 5674.22.
Climbing the same percentage was the Dow Jones industrial average, up 38 points to finish at 20,090.29. The S&P 500 finished fractionally positive after briefly nosing into the red about mid-session.
Rising gold, interest rates could spell trouble
The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.38% from 2.41% late Monday.
A slide in crude oil prices weighed on energy companies, which fell the most, adding to the sector’s losses this year. Consumer-focused companies led the gainers. Investors were also sizing up the latest company earnings reports. Benchmark U.S. crude was down $1.09, or 2.1%, at $51.92 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, was off 92 cents, or 1.7%, at $54.80 in London.
Several oil and gas companies followed crude prices lower. Chevron was the biggest decliner in the Dow, shedding 1.4%. Murphy Oil slid 4%, while Chesapeake Energy gave up 3.3%. Newfield Exploration slid 4.2%. Energy has been the worst-performing sector in the market over the last month and is now back to where it stood in November, when OPEC announced a deal to cut oil production.
More than half of the companies in the S&P 500 index have reported quarterly results so far, and more than 60% have posted earnings that beat financial analysts’ estimates, noted Erik Davidson, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank.
“We haven’t seen a lot of earnings growth in the past several quarters, so the market is excited to see that,” Davidson said.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX index ended up 0.5%, while France’s CAC 40 lost 0.5%. The FTSE of Britain climbed 0.2%. Stock indexes in Asia were mixed. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.4%, while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 rose 0.1%. Seoul’s Kospi slid 0.1%, while India’s Sensex shed 0.6%.