US close: Stocks manage positive finish after Monday plunge

Wall Street stocks finished firmer on Tuesday, as major indices crawled back some of the heavy losses recorded in the previous session.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.62% at 34,511.99, while the S&P 500 added 1.52% to 4,323.06, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.57% firmer at 14,498.88.

The Dow closed 549.95 points higher on Tuesday, more than halving losses recorded in the previous session, its worst performance in eight months, as concerns regarding the spread of the Covid-19 delta variant saw market participants offload equities en masse.

Rising coronavirus cases were in focus again on Tuesday, with the ‘Delta’ variant spreading primarily among the unvaccinated, and the US now averaging about 26,000 daily cases over the last seven days - more than double the average number seen in mid-June.

Also in focus, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was still hovering around a five-month low at roughly 1.18%.

On the macro front, US homebuilding activity bounced back last month but forward-looking indicators pointed to weakness ahead.

According to the Department of Commerce, housing starts grew by 6.3% month-on-month in June to reach an annualised rate of 1.64m, ahead of consensus estimates for a print of 1.59m.

Going the other way, building permits fell by 5.1% to 1.59m, and May's print for housing starts was revised lower to a pace of roughly 1.55m from 1.57m.

In the corporate space, Halliburton closed up 3.67% after posting a second-quarter net income of $227.0m, up from $170.0m recorded in the first quarter, while total revenues ticked up from $3.5bn to $3.7bn as both North America and international markets continued to improve.

Tobacco giant Philip Morris International was down 3.06% after it reported a second-quarter net income of $2.17bn on Tuesday, up from $1.95bn a year earlier, but also outlined adjusted revenues of $7.59bn which fell short of expectations for $7.67bn.

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $217.15 4.91%
American Express Co. (AXP) $168.87 3.72%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $364.76 2.83%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $146.15 2.60%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $207.96 2.40%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $176.75 2.20%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $234.32 2.19%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $325.35 2.03%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $149.71 1.86%
3M Co. (MMM) $200.82 1.65%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $76.17 -1.14%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $139.69 -0.53%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $55.60 -0.47%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $151.09 -0.11%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $246.89 0.06%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $55.83 0.18%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $141.92 0.45%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $96.53 0.59%

S&P 500 - Risers

American Airlines Group (AAL) $20.56 8.38%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $23.68 8.28%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $74.89 7.74%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $16.67 7.48%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $21.19 7.45%
Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG) $125.63 7.20%
Dover Corp. (DOV) $162.33 6.69%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $46.32 6.58%
Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM) $20.84 6.49%
Macerich Co (MAC) $16.72 6.43%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $186.12 -75.22%
PPG Industries Inc. (PPG) $158.49 -4.38%
Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) $73.03 -4.31%
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) $94.98 -3.06%
Clorox Co. (CLX) $182.39 -2.85%
Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) $82.74 -1.52%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $45.28 -1.37%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $196.55 -1.35%
General Mills Inc. (GIS) $59.92 -1.33%
Kroger Co. (KR) $40.58 -1.22%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

American Airlines Group (AAL) $20.56 8.38%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $40.87 4.69%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $137.03 3.83%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $487.25 3.73%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $615.71 3.38%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $334.50 3.35%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $135.03 3.19%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $62.60 3.15%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $296.15 3.08%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,130.43 3.04%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $186.12 -75.22%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $196.55 -1.35%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $25.81 -0.88%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $73.87 -0.47%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $322.72 -0.44%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $70.17 -0.28%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $531.05 -0.23%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $144.40 -0.15%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $141.07 -0.12%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $669.39 0.00%