US open: Stocks trade higher early on final day of January

Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Tuesday as market participants awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting and digested a number of earnings reports.

As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.08% at 33,743.37, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.31% to 4,030.29 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.47% firmer at 11,446.80.

The Dow opened 26.28 points higher on Tuesday, doing little to reverse losses recorded in the previous session.

Despite Monday's losses, all three major indices are still tracking for monthly gains going into the final day of January, with the Nasdaq Composite on pace for its best monthly performance since July 2022. However, with several major earnings updates and the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision all set to be revealed before the end of the week, Wall Street's recent rally could be at risk.

On the macro front, compensation cost growth for US workers slowed at the end of 2020 as, according to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, the quarter-on-quarter rate of increase in total compensation costs slowed from 1.2% in the third quarter to 1.0% in the fourth. Wage and salary growth, meanwhile, slipped from 1.3% to 1.0% and benefits growth dipped from 1.0% to 0.8%.

Elsewhere, the Federal Housing Finance Agency revealed house prices fell 0.1% month-on-month in November, a marked difference to November 2021's 8.2% rise, as higher mortgage rates suppressed demand but low inventories helped maintain relatively flat prices throughout the month.

On another note, the Chicago purchasing managers index fell back to 44.3 points in January from 44.9 in December, according to the Institute for Supply Management, a fifth consecutive month of contraction and short of expectations for a reading of 45.

Finally, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell from an upwardly revised 109.0 in December to 107.1 in January, while the expectations index slipped from 83.4 to 77.8.

In the corporate space, drug maker Pfizer reported record-breaking full-year revenues but cautioned that 2023 sales could fall as much as a third, while fast food giant McDonald's revealed US customer numbers had grown in the fourth quarter, leading to earnings and revenues that topped Wall Street estimates.

Spotify fell deeper into the red in the fourth quarter as costs mounted, with quarterly net losses widening to €270.0m from €39.0m a year earlier, while Exxon Mobil posted a mixed set of quarterly results albeit accompanied by hefty cash flows.

Still to come, Electronic Arts, AMD, Amgen, Chubb, Western Digital, and Snap will post their latest quarterly earnings after the close.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $498.90 2.70%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $317.64 1.08%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $244.16 0.60%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $165.70 0.58%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $58.26 0.53%
3M Co. (MMM) $113.08 0.44%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.22 0.43%
American Express Co. (AXP) $173.10 0.25%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $60.79 0.25%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $141.34 0.23%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $249.83 -4.46%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $265.17 -2.11%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $172.07 -1.22%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $27.64 -1.11%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $36.13 -1.08%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $134.49 -0.60%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $138.33 -0.58%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $251.00 -0.23%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $161.67 -0.20%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $142.72 -0.20%

S&P 500 - Risers

PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $56.34 8.37%
International Paper Co. (IP) $40.70 7.70%
Smith A O Corp. (AOS) $64.05 7.54%
Pentair plc (PNR) $53.37 5.27%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $505.68 4.28%
United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) $184.13 4.05%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $13.40 4.00%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $19.37 3.14%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $498.90 2.70%
Westrock Company (WRK) $38.40 2.69%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Phillips 66 Common Stock (PSX) $100.48 -5.58%
Sysco Corp. (SYY) $74.04 -5.20%
Principal Financial Group Inc (PFG) $89.07 -4.63%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $249.83 -4.46%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $59.23 -4.02%
Corning Inc. (GLW) $35.34 -2.89%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $43.03 -2.74%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $47.53 -2.23%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $265.17 -2.11%
Dollar General Corp (DG) $229.10 -1.63%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $85.43 2.13%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $102.59 2.03%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $750.70 1.93%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $100.49 1.14%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $175.08 1.13%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $289.02 1.08%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $30.18 1.00%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $211.09 0.94%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $148.44 0.94%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $109.19 0.91%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $59.23 -4.02%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $134.62 -2.79%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $43.03 -2.74%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $114.02 -1.33%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $65.92 -1.26%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $27.64 -1.11%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $36.13 -1.08%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,415.51 -0.88%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $11.52 -0.82%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $88.87 -0.79%