WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Tuesday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line. Despite the choppy trading, the Dow crept up to a new record closing high.
The major averages all finished the day modestly higher. The Dow inched up 9.98 points or less than tenth of a percent to 41,250.50, the Nasdaq rose 29.05 points or 0.2 percent to 17,754.82 and the S&P 500 edged up 8.96 points or 0.2 percent to 5,625.80.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), with the AI darling due to release its fiscal second quarter results after the close of trading on Wednesday.
Shares of Nvidia jumped by 1.5 percent on the day, regaining ground after tumbling by 2.3 percent during Monday's session.
Traders were also looking ahead to the release of Commerce Department's report on personal income and spending in the month of July, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve, on Friday.
Economists currently expected the report to show the annual rate of consumer price growth was unchanged at 2.5 percent, while the annual rate of core consumer price is expected to tick up to 2.7 percent in July from 2.6 percent in June.
While the data is not likely to affect optimism the Fed will lower rates next month, it could impact expectations for how quickly the central bank cuts rates.
During his speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium last Friday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the 'time has come for policy to adjust' but noted the 'timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.'
On the U.S. economic front, the Conference Board released a report unexpectedly showing a modest improvement by U.S. consumer confidence in the month of August.
The report said the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 103.3 in August from an upwardly revised 101.9 in July.
The increase surprised economists, who had expected the consumer confidence index to edge down to 100.1 from the 100.3 originally reported for the previous month.
Sector News
Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.
Telecom stocks showed a substantial move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index tumbling by 2.5 percent.
Significant weakness was also visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.
Energy stocks also saw notable weakness amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil, while semiconductor stocks regained ground after falling sharply on Monday.
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 0.5 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.2 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed after seeing early strength. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries saw another modest move to the downside after ending the previous session slightly lower. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, crept up 1.5 basis points to 3.833 percent.
Looking Ahead
A lack of major U.S. economic news may lead to another choppy trading day on Wednesday ahead of Nvidia's earnings after the close of trading.
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