US close: Stocks mixed as debt ceiling deal heads to Congress

Wall Street presented a mixed performance on Tuesday on its return from the Memorial Day holiday, as the focus remained on the federal debt ceiling issue.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.15% at 33,042.78, as the S&P 500 finished flat at 4,205.52.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite meanwhile ended the day in positive territory, rising 0.32% to 13,017.43.

Despite Congressional Republicans and the White House striking a deal on the debt ceiling over the weekend, the agreement still needed approval from Congress in the coming days to avert a potential government debt default.

On the currency front, the dollar slipped 0.01% against sterling to trade at 80.55p, while it was unchanged on the yen at JPY 138.79.

The greenback edged up 0.01% on the common currency, however, to change hands at 93.17 euro cents.

“This continues to be a remarkably bifurcated market,” said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

“Nvidia’s results continue to power chip makers and other stocks that can be linked to the boom in AI, no matter how tenuous.

“Meanwhile, in a perhaps unsurprising development, it has proven impossible to maintain the sunny optimism of Friday, when markets surged on news of a debt ceiling deal in principle.”

Beauchamp said that while it was still likely that a deal would pass Congress without too many hiccoughs, the risk of a delay meant stocks were not seeing the triumphant progress to the end of May that looked likely last week.

House prices rise further, consumer confidence slips

In economic news, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index, a key measure of house prices, showed a continued upward trend in the sector.

The index increased by 0.4% in March, making for the second consecutive monthly gain.

“Two months of increasing prices do not a definitive recovery make, but March's results suggest that the decline in home prices that began in June 2022 may have come to an end,” said Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Contrarily, consumer confidence demonstrated a slight dip, according to the Conference Board.

Its consumer confidence index fell to 102.3 in May from a print of 103.7 in April.

Moreover, there was a drop in the number of consumers who believed jobs were readily available, with that measure falling four percentage points to 43.5%.

“However, expectations for jobs and incomes over the next six months held relatively steady,” the survey compiler said.

Finally on data, the manufacturing sector exhibited signs of contraction in the Dallas region, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

The regional manufacturing index dropped to -29.1 in May, from -23.4 in April, making for a three-year low that was significantly lower than the -19.5 economists had pencilled in.

Nvidia in focus, Ford strikes the right note with broker

In equities, graphics processor giant Nvidia was up 2.99% after a series of new product and partnership announcements were made by its founder and chief executive Jensen Huang at a tech trade show in Taiwan.

During the session, the firm’s market cap also briefly surpassed the $1trn mark.

Ford Motor Company meanwhile accelerated 4.14% following an upgrade at Jefferies, which shifted its rating on the carmaker from 'hold' to 'buy'.

“Last week's investor event in Dearborn raised our confidence that Ford finally has the plan and the team in place to close a deficit of execution that has dogged shares for years,” the bank said.

It added that the gap between Ford's ambitions and consensus stuck below 6% was attractive, saying it expected sequential improvements across divisions.

Meanwhile, consumer goods giant Newell Brands was in focus, rising 1.73% after the maker of Sharpie markers and Yankee Candles announced a restructuring plan aimed at cost cutting and streamlining distribution.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE -50.56 (-0.15%) 33,042.78

RISERS
Intel Corporation +3.41% $29.99
Salesforce Inc +1.59% $218.87
Apple Inc +1.07% $177.30
Amgen Inc +0.74% $218.53
Cisco Systems +0.62% $50.17
Travelers Companies +0.58% $173.29
Boeing Co +0.52% $204.69
American Express +0.49% $158.01
International Business Machines +0.46% $129.48
Honeywell International +0.41% $194.55

FALLERS
Merck & Co -1.71% $109.17
Procter & Gamble -1.53% $143.18
Visa Inc -1.5% $221.64
Nike Inc -0.92% $106.52
3M Co -0.91% $96.06
Caterpillar Inc -0.9% $209.90
Coca-Cola Co -0.8% $59.78
Chevron Corporation -0.62% $153.12
Walt Disney Co -0.53% $87.82
Microsoft Corporation -0.51% $331.21

S&P 500 +0.07 (0.00%) 4,205.52

RISERS
Paramount Global +6.37% $15.86
Enphase Energy +5.4% $174.12
Qualcomm Inc +5.12% $116.00
Synopsys +4.52% $464.83
Tesla Inc +4.14% $201.16
Ford Motor Co +4.14% $12.59
Quanta Services +4.12% $181.17
Netflix Inc +3.72% $392.98
Intel Corporation +3.41% $29.99
Ansys Inc +3.06% $329.16

FALLERS
Mondelez International -3.67% $72.37
Target Corporation -3.66% $133.84
Comerica Inc -3.59% $37.59
Etsy Inc -3.55% $82.49
APA Corporation US -3.5% $32.24
Ball Corporation -3.35% $52.01
ON Semiconductor Corporation -3.06% $83.97
Ralph Lauren Corporation -3.05% $
Micron Technology -3.03% $71.69
Intuit Inc -2.95% $406.09

NASDAQ COMPOSITE +41.74 (+0.32%) 13,017.43

RISERS
Enphase Energy +5.4% $174.12
Qualcomm Inc +5.12% $116.00
Synopsys Inc +4.52% $464.83
Tesla Inc +4.14% $201.16
Netflix Inc +3.72% $392.98
Intel Corporation +3.41% $29.99
Zscaler Inc +3.14%% $134.72
Ansys Inc +3.06% $329.16
PayPal Holdings +3.04% $62.05
Nvidia Corporation +2.99% $401.11

FALLERS
PDD Holdings -5.31% $67.63
NetEase Inc -5.07% $84.97
Mondelez International -3.67% $72.37
Workday Inc -3.24% $209.08
Marvell Technology -3.22% $63.40
Micron Technology -3.03% $71.69
JD.com Inc -3.02% $32.10
Intuit Inc -2.95% $406.09
Dollar Tree -2.79% $138.48
MercadoLibre -2.54% $1,249.72