US close: Wall Street slips amid debt-ceiling talk tedium

Wall Street experienced a downturn on Tuesday, with all major indexes closing in the negative due to ongoing stalemates over the federal debt ceiling negotiations.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.69% to 33,055.51 points, while the S&P 500 lost 1.12% to 4,145.58 points.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite meanwhile shed 1.26% of its value to end the day at 12,560.25.

Despite encouraging reports from both the White House and Republican congressional representatives after Monday's discussions, the lack of any substantial progress on Tuesday dampened market sentiments.

Hopes for a swift resolution were dashed after comments from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who told his party colleagues earlier that the two sides of the negotiations were "not anywhere near close", according to Bloomberg.

On the currency front, the dollar was last down 0.04% against sterling to trade at 80.53p, while it slipped 0.02% on the euro to 92.83 euro cents.

The greenback also fell slightly from the yen, last losing 0.01% to change hands at JPY 138.58.

“With debt ceiling discussions ongoing, and time running out for an agreement, US markets are starting to roll back,” said CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson.

“The outlook for interest rates and a slowing economy [are]also starting to gain traction, with a stronger dollar and higher yields starting to act as a drag on risk.”

Newly-built home sales top market forecasts

On the economic front, newly-built house sales in the US outpaced expectations last month, according to data from the Department of Commerce.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, sales of new homes in April increased by 4.1% month-on-month, achieving an annual rate of 683,000.

The performance exceeded economists' predictions for a sales figure of 660,000.

However, there was a downward adjustment in the previous month's sales data, which was revised from 680,000 to a lesser 656,000.

Despite the revision, the year-on-year comparison was still promising, as compared to the same month last year, April's new home sales were up 11.8%.

In terms of pricing, there was a notable decrease in April with the median sales price for new homes declining from $455,800 in March to $420,800.

The average price also saw a reduction, falling from $559,200 to $501,000.

Looking at supply, the inventory of new homes on the market saw a marginal increase, with a rise from 6.7 months' worth of sales in March to 6.8 months' worth in April.

Lowe’s rises on earnings, Zoom takes a tumble

In equities, Lowe's was up 1.72% after it released first-quarter earnings that surpassed market expectations.

However, the home improvement retailer reduced its full-year outlook, projecting total sales in the range of $87bn to $89b - a drop from the previous forecast for $88bn to $90bn.

Additionally, Lowe's trimmed its estimate for adjusted diluted earnings per share, pencilling in a range of $13.20 to $13.60 from the previous $13.60 to $14.00.

Broadcom meanwhile added 1.2%, after it announced a new multibillion-dollar contract with Apple to design 5G radio frequency components.

On the downside, Zoom Video Communications tumbled 8.07%, despite the company exceeding market forecasts for both its quarterly results and forward-looking projections.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE -231.07 (-0.69%) 33,055.51

RISERS
Chevron Corporation +2.89% $156.85
Home Depot +1.47% $294.94
Walgreens Boots Alliance +1.32% $31.60
Verizon Communications +0.78% £36.24
International Business Machines +0.53% $128.18
Dow Inc +0.37% $51.96
Amgen Inc +0.2% $224.44
Cisco Systems +0.18% $48.91
Johnson & Johnson -0.04% $156.81
Coca-Cola Company -0.18% $61.40

FALLERS
Visa Inc -2.9% $224.58
Intel Corporation -2.54% $29.51
Walt Disney Company -2.18% $89.82
American Express -1.9% $152.56
Microsoft Corporation -1.84% $315.26
Salesforce Inc -1.72% $206.64
Boeing Co -1.61% $202.60
Apple Inc -1.52% $171.56
Nike Inc -1.27% $108.78
Procter & Gamble -1.08% $147.55

S&P 500 -47.05 (-1.12%) 4,145.58

RISERS
Moderna Inc +8.69% 137.75
Albemarle Corporation +4.63% $216.07
Zions Bancorporation +4.63% $29.39
American International Group +3.35% $55.77
Tyson Foods +3.11% $51.67
Chevron Corporation +2.89% $156.85
Capital One Financial Corporation +2.74% $102.17
Citizens Financial Group +2.5% $27.87
RXO Inc +2.3% $20.45
Pfizer Inc +2.3% $39.64

FALLERS
Las Vegas Sands Corporation -6.35% $55.71
Universal Health Services -6.15% $126.93
Align Technology -6.08% $282.55
Wynn Resorts -6.02% $101.88
Autozone Inc -5.97% $2,463.41
Monolithic Power Systems -5.51% $423.70
Caesars Entertainment -5.35% $42.25
Idexx Laboratories -5.18% $461.08
MGM Resorts International -5.1% $40.17
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation -4.96% $84.74

NASDAQ COMPOSITE -160.53 (-1.26%) 12,560.25

RISERS
Moderna Inc +8.69% $137.75
Match Group +2.06% $34.68
Seagen Inc +1.62% $196.49
Walgreens Boots Alliance +1.32% $31.60
Broadcom Inc +1.2% $686.50
Exelon Corporation +0.8% $40.44
Atlassian Corporation +0.65% $159.41
Keurig Dr Pepper +0.35% $32.02
Marvell Technology +0.32% $46.59
Amgen Inc +0.2% $224.44

FALLERS
Zoom Video Communications -8.07% $65.65
Align Technology -6.08% $282.55
NetEase Inc -5.38% $83.77
Idexx Laboratories -5.18% $461.08
Intuitive Surgical -3.88% $301.44
Baidu Inc -3.49% $121.56
Zscaler Inc -3.41% $124.47
Autodesk Inc -3.37% $196.64
Airbnb Inc -3.35% $106.25
Dexcom Inc -3.02% $115.69