WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After trending higher over the past several sessions, the major U.S. stock indexes are turning in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. While the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are seeing further upside, the Dow is pulling back off yesterday's record closing high.
The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, stuck on opposite sides of the unchanged line. The Dow is down 266.89 points or 0.6 percent at 44,469.68, but the Nasdaq is up 91.70 points or 0.5 percent at 19,146.53 and the S&P 500 is up 15.04 points or 0.3 percent at 6,002.41.
The pullback by the Dow partly reflects a steep drop by shares of Amgen (AMGN), with the biotechnology company plunging by 11.4 percent.
Amgen in under pressure after the company said its experimental obesity drug MariTide demonstrated up to 20 percent average weight loss after a year, but the results still seemed to disappoint investors.
Traders are also digesting President-elect Donald Trump's latest threats to impose increased tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he would impose a 25 percent tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada on his first day in office, blaming the countries for the influx of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs into the U.S.
'This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!' Trump said.
Trump said in a subsequent post that he would also impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese products, claiming the country has not done enough to stop the 'massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States.'
Traders are also looking ahead to the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting later this afternoon.
The minutes of the November meeting, when the Fed decided to lower interest rates by 25 basis points, could shed light on the outlook for rates.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 59.6 chance the Fed will lower rates by another 25 basis points next month but a 40.4 percent chance the central bank will leave rates unchanged.
Sector News
Housing stocks have shown a substantial move back to the downside, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index tumbling by 2.2 percent after surging to its best closing level in over a month on Monday.
Despite a rebound by the price of crude oil, oil service stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 1.4 percent.
Computer hardware and steel stocks are also giving back ground following recent strength, while software stocks are seeing further upside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 0.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after soaring in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.1 basis points at 4.314 percent.
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