US close: Markets mixed ahead of earnings, but Dow hits new peak

US stock markets finished mixed on Tuesday as investors braced themselves for a deluge of corporate earnings from tech heavyweights, a central bank policy decision and some vital economic data.

The Dow rose 0.4% to set another record close of 38,467.31, while the S&P 500 pulled back 0.1% from Monday's all-time high and the Nasdaq dropped 0.8%.

Microsoft is first up, due to publish its figures after the closing bell, and will have a lot to prove following a 65% surge in the stock over the past 12 months. "Today represents the biggest day of fourth-quarter earnings thus far, with Microsoft hoping to maintain its new crown as a $3 trillion business," said analyst Joshua Mahony from Scope Markets.

Results from Alphabet were due out after markets closed, along with earnings from Advanced Micro Devices, Starbucks, Electronic Arts and Juniper Networks. Then on Thursday, Apple, Amazon and Meta Platform will publish their results.

Big week for macro events

Investors were also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting which culminates on Wednesday but is widely expected to see the central bank stand pat on interest rates. The market will be on the lookout for more clarity on the outlook for rates since market expectations of a cut in March have been recently pushed back following resilient economic data.

Finally, the week will be capped off by the all-important US jobs report on Friday, which is currently expected to show that non-farm payrolls came in at 180,000 in January, down from 216,000 in December, while hourly earnings growth eased to 0.3% from 0.4%.

In macro news on Tuesday, the number of US job openings unexpectedly jumped by 3.1% to reach 9.026m in December, the highest in three months and ahead of the consensus estimate of 8.75m. Hiring meanwhile, picked up by 1.2% on the month to hit 5.621m.

Meanwhile, the closely watched Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose to 114.8 this month, up from a revised 108.0 in December. That was the highest reading since December 2021 and more or less in line with the consensus forecast of 115.

UPS sinks, GM jumps

UPS shares dropped 8% after the transport and logistics giant missed forecasts with its fourth-quarter results and underwhelmed with guidance for 2024, as well as announcing the removal of 12,000 jobs. The world's largest package delivery firm, which employs over 500,000 people worldwide, revealed the job cuts after a disappointing end to 2023, in which revenues fell 7.8% to $24.9bn, undershooting market forecasts of $25.4bn.

In contrast, General Motors gained 8% after beating market forecasts in its fourth quarter, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.24, compared to an estimated $1.16, and the revenue of $43bn surpassing the estimated $38.67bn.

PayPal finished flat after plans to slash 9% of its headcount were revealed – following a reduction of 7% of employees last year – as the digital payments group embarks on a restructuring programme. “We are doing this to right-size our business, allowing us to move with the speed needed to deliver for our customers and drive profitable growth,” said chief executive Alex Chriss in an internal memo to staff.

Dow Jones - Risers

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $176.64 2.26%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $387.34 1.78%
American Express Co. (AXP) $204.09 1.61%
Visa Inc. (V) $277.60 1.44%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $213.50 1.13%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $157.57 0.90%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.40 0.84%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $54.51 0.80%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $294.59 0.78%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $150.10 0.69%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $200.42 -2.32%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $42.94 -2.05%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $188.00 -1.95%
3M Co. (MMM) $95.84 -0.56%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $158.64 -0.45%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $97.16 -0.34%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $52.14 -0.29%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $22.68 -0.18%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $503.66 -0.17%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $409.19 -0.13%

S&P 500 - Risers

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $40.69 12.22%
Msci Inc. (MSCI) $604.48 9.72%
Sysco Corp. (SYY) $80.85 7.56%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $189.56 7.31%
Corning Inc. (GLW) $33.17 6.47%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $169.94 6.12%
Citigroup Inc. (C) $57.15 5.63%
Danaher Corp. (DHR) $244.41 4.48%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $34.81 3.56%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $377.21 3.08%

S&P 500 - Fallers

United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) $145.66 -7.82%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $49.17 -7.57%
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $110.29 -6.37%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $19.85 -5.45%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.29 -4.78%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $26.90 -4.17%
Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (ARE) $121.41 -3.98%
Johnson Controls International plc (JCI) $54.40 -3.97%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $85.96 -3.49%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $171.87 -3.35%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $446.13 2.37%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $46.68 1.24%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $608.12 1.02%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,040.41 1.01%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $700.96 1.00%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $76.42 0.92%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $122.39 0.85%
Fiserv Inc. (FI) $144.01 0.77%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $35.83 0.67%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $628.57 0.63%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.85 -3.75%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $85.96 -3.49%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $5.11 -3.31%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $22.71 -3.20%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $57.89 -3.11%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $14.55 -2.61%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $145.96 -2.46%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $162.08 -2.38%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $105.26 -2.32%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $562.85 -2.25%