US close: Stocks end session higher following trade balance figures

dl nyse new york stock exchange wall st street city finance dow jones nasdaq sp finance dollar dollars us usa united states of america 2 — New York Stock ExchangeSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks ended the session in the green on Tuesday as market participants digested December's trade balance figures and continued to look ahead to key inflation data scheduled for release later in the week.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.06% at 35,462.78, while the S&P 500 was 0.84% firmer at 4,521.54 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.28% stronger at 14,194.45.

The Dow closed 371.65 points higher on Tuesday as the session's primary focus was news that the US goods and services trade deficit rose to $80.7bn in December, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Census Bureau, taking 2021's full-year reading to a record-shattering $859.0bn.

The rise from last month's print of $79.33bn, which was smaller than the $82.8bn reading expected by economists, comes as exports rose to $228.1bn, while imports increased to $308.9bn.

Elsewhere on the macro front, small business confidence fell to an 11-month low in January, according to the National Federation of Independent Business, as ongoing worker shortages and increase prices for raw materials weighed on sentiment. The NFIB's small business optimism index fell 1.8 points to 97.1 last month for its lowest reading since February 2021, with half of the 1,504 small businesses participating in the poll reportedly raising staff compensation - the highest reading for that particular metric in 48 years.

Also in focus, Treasury yields hit fresh Covid-era highs on Monday and were higher again on Tuesday, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sitting at around 1.964% - a level not seen since before the coronavirus pandemic.

In the corporate space, the co-founder of embattled fitness firm Peloton Interactive is stepping down as chief executive, it was confirmed on Tuesday. John Foley, who has led the US fitness specialist since it was founded a decade ago, will be replaced by Barry McCarthy, the former chief financial officer of Spotify and Netflix. Foley will become executive chair.

Warner Music posted an increase in first-quarter profits thanks to improved revenues across its publishing and digital divisions, while Harley-Davidson delivered a fourth-quarter revenue beat and Pfizer reported full-year revenues of $81.3bn and adjusted diluted earnings of $4.42 per share, both of which were roughly in line with consensus estimates.

Dow Jones - Risers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $241.01 7.82%
American Express Co. (AXP) $194.16 3.26%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $493.41 2.01%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $61.09 1.97%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $155.95 1.88%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $174.83 1.85%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $49.79 1.43%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.81 1.31%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $304.56 1.20%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $361.44 1.14%