WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks have regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The major averages have climbed well off their lows of the session, with the Dow turning positive.
Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is up 144.12 points or 0.4 percent at 38,934.55, the S&P 500 is down 5.39 points or 0.1 percent at 5,144.03 and the Nasdaq is down 78.28 points or 0.5 percent at 16,025.17.
The pullback by the Nasdaq comes as technology stocks are moving back to the downside after helping lead the markets higher on Monday.
Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) have slumped by 2.3 percent after the chipmaker held its first-ever GTC Conference on Monday, when the company unveiled its latest line of AI chips, called Blackwell.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI) has also plunged by 12.1 percent after the company announced the launch of a proposed underwritten registered public offering of 2 million shares of its common stock.
Caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy announcement on Wednesday is also weighing on Wall Street.
While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the central bank's accompanying statement and economic projections could have a significant impact on the outlook for rates.
Recent hotter-than-expected inflation readings have reduced optimism about the likelihood of the Fed's first rate cut coming in June.
On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed a substantial rebound in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of February.
The Commerce Department said housing starts spiked by 10.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.521 million in February after plunging by 12.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.374 million in January.
Economists had expected housing starts to surge by 7.1 percent to a rate of 1.425 million from the 1.331 million originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said building permits shot up by 1.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.518 million in February after dipping by 0.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.489 million in January.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to jump by 1.7 percent to a rate of 1.495 million from the 1.470 million originally reported for the previous month.
Sector News
The slump by Nvidia is weighing on the semiconductor sector, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbling by 2.2 percent.
Computer hardware stocks are also seeing considerable weakness amid the steep drop by Supermicro, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 1.5 percent.
Notable weakness is also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The weakness in the sector comes amid a modest decrease by the price of gold.
On the other hand, oil service stocks are moving higher along with the price of crude oil, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 1.1 percent to a four-month intraday high.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.7 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after trending lower over the past several sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.4 basis points at 4.306 percent.
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