US close: Stocks mixed as rising Covid-19 cases in Europe remain in focus

Wall Street stocks put on a mixed performance on Tuesday as rising international Covid-19 cases remained in focus ahead of the Thanksgiving break.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.55% at 35,813.80, while the S&P 500 was 0.17% stronger at 4,690.70 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.50% softer at 15,775.14.

The Dow closed 194.55 points higher on Tuesday, building on modest gains recorded in the previous session as market participants monitored rising Covid-19 cases across Europe and rising bond yields fuelled a tech sell-off.

Trading was somewhat slow on Tuesday given the Thanksgiving holiday-shortened week. However, traders still digested a number of earnings reports and the odd data point.

On the macro front, a flash reading of IHS Markit's November manufacturing PMI revealed that business activity growth slowed down a touch in November but still increased month-on-month, coming in bang on estimates at 59.1, up from 58.4 a month ago, as labour and raw material shortages weighed on production.

Elsewhere, the Richmond Federal Reserve's November manufacturing index inched down from 12 in October to 11 but remained in expansionary territory but all three component indexes continued to reflect growth.

In the corporate space, Abercrombie & Fitch posted a 10% year-on-year improvement in quarterly net sales on strong in-store sales, while American Eagle Outfitters said both sales and inventory levels had increased ahead of the all-important holiday trading season.

Shares in US electronics retailer Best Buy fell sharply on Tuesday despite the retailer reporting net earnings of $499.0m, or $2.00 per share, for the 13 weeks to 30 October, a year-on-year improvement that came in ahead of expectations, while Dollar Tree quarterly sales topped expectations as the discount retailer stated it would move to a $1.25 price point across all its stores.

Investors were also still firmly focussed on international Covid-19 woes after German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the European nation was now experiencing a spike in new cases.

Dow Jones - Risers

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $406.34 2.57%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $168.28 2.39%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $447.13 2.19%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $160.26 2.16%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $116.30 2.10%
Visa Inc. (V) $198.49 1.49%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $205.33 1.46%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $82.80 1.42%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.30 1.28%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $149.44 1.11%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $151.03 -2.03%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $291.42 -1.83%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $49.10 -1.46%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $172.15 -1.20%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $337.68 -0.63%
Boeing Co. (BA) $209.13 -0.37%
3M Co. (MMM) $179.46 -0.11%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $408.37 -0.10%
American Express Co. (AXP) $170.85 -0.03%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%

S&P 500 - Risers

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $144.71 9.17%
Apache Corp. (APA) $28.47 7.31%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $12.92 6.87%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $31.92 6.36%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $60.53 6.32%
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $91.76 5.82%
J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $133.63 5.69%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $43.44 5.59%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $16.51 5.43%
Hess Corp. (HES) $81.58 5.12%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $121.01 -12.31%
Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) $154.78 -4.91%
MGM Resorts International (MGM) $42.51 -4.56%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $275.16 -3.04%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $365.74 -3.03%
Medtronic Plc (MDT) $113.38 -3.00%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $91.69 -2.81%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $71.65 -2.61%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $56.18 -2.40%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $620.04 -2.32%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $144.71 9.17%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $60.53 6.32%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $115.43 3.83%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $186.85 2.95%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $177.97 2.73%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $661.32 2.26%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $89.46 2.00%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,341.13 1.92%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $113.58 1.91%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $85.41 1.85%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $1,109.03 -4.14%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $365.74 -3.03%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $91.69 -2.81%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $71.65 -2.61%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $620.04 -2.32%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,285.00 -2.27%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $807.48 -2.21%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $304.00 -2.09%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $657.26 -1.85%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $84.01 -1.65%