US close: Dow, S&P 500 reach new highs on China stimulus
US stocks rose on Tuesday, helping the Dow and S&P 500 both to set new record highs, with sentiment continuing to be lifted by last week's bumper rate cut by the Federal Reserve, along with a raft of stimulus measures announced in China.
Investors were largely shrugging off data showing an unexpected plunge in US consumer confidence this month, after China's central bank unveiled a raft of cuts to reserve requirements and lending rates, including for existing home loans, as it tried to stimulate the country’s stagnant economy.
The Dow finished 0.20% higher at a new closing high of 42,208.22, while the S&P 500 rose 0.25% to a new peak of 5,732.93. The Nasdaq meanwhile gained 0.56% to 18,074.52.
However, market sentiment was still relatively cautious, according to AJ Bell's head of financial analysis, Danni Hewson. “There’s still a lot of volatility around as investors second guess last week’s jumbo Fed move and wonder if today’s weak US consumer confidence data heralds a gloomy fourth quarter," she said.
"Coming off the back of another slew of record-breaking highs investors would do well not to read too much into today’s slight cooldown, although there is plenty of other data which might upset the apple cart later in the week."
In economic data on Tuesday, confidence levels among US consumers fell by their most in more than three years in September, with the outlook on business conditions turning negative. The Conference Board's US Consumer Confidence Index dropped below the long-term average to 98.7 in September, down from an upwardly revised 105.6 in August. Economists had expected a small decline to around 104.
In other news, house-price growth in the US slowed in July but still reached another all-time high, according to closely watched S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data on Tuesday. The national home price NSA index increased by 5% on last year, down from a 5.5% gain in June, while the 20-city home price index slowed to 5.9% from 6.5%.
Market movers
Shares in Visa dropped 5.5% as the payments giant was sued by the Department of Justice for an alleged illegal monopoly of the debit-card market. "Visa has unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market," the attorney general said.
Boeing has made its "best and final" offer to striking Boeing workers, which proposed a 30% pay rise over a four-year period, also included the reinstatement of performance bonuses and improved retirement benefits.
Precious metal miners Newmont Corporation, First Majestic Silver and Barrick Gold all rose strongly as gold prices hit another record high on the back of a falling dollar and Chinese stimulus. Gold futures were up 1.3% at $2,687 an ounce.
Nasdaq-listed shares of Chinese ecommerce giant JD.com surged nearly 14% as investors placed bets on a recovery in the world's second-largest economy, with Beijing-headquartered tech group Baidu also rising strongly.
Dow Jones - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $385.61 3.89%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $53.47 2.75%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $270.51 2.38%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $400.66 2.22%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $87.48 1.48%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.83 1.17%
3M Co. (MMM) $137.10 1.08%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.69 0.96%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $93.61 0.68%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $52.53 0.66%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Visa Inc. (V) $272.82 -5.48%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $330.94 -1.39%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $429.17 -1.00%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $114.71 -0.80%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.23 -0.70%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $238.01 -0.56%
American Express Co. (AXP) $266.12 -0.44%
Boeing Co. (BA) $155.67 -0.40%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $173.11 -0.38%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $8.53 -0.35%
S&P 500 - Risers
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $48.69 7.85%
Flowserve Corp. (FLS) $52.12 7.23%
Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $92.03 6.15%
Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) $13.70 5.42%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $84.16 4.93%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $19.78 4.46%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $120.89 3.98%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $385.61 3.89%
Celanese Corp. (CE) $132.59 3.80%
FedEx Corp. (FDX) $267.24 3.27%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $47.00 -7.54%
Global Payments Inc. (GPN) $103.99 -6.30%
Visa Inc. (V) $272.82 -5.48%
McKesson Corp. (MCK) $481.73 -4.61%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $1,045.90 -4.22%
Dxc Technology Company (DXC) $20.32 -3.17%
Synchrony Financial (SYF) $48.21 -3.01%
Essex Prty Trust Inc. (ESS) $300.58 -2.93%
Equity Residential (EQR) $75.36 -2.69%
Discover Financial Services (DFS) $136.66 -2.52%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $33.90 13.89%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.60 8.46%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $53.07 8.11%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $87.00 8.09%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $94.81 7.40%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $84.16 4.93%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $120.89 3.98%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $65.44 3.14%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $21.71 2.74%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $147.93 2.70%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $24.11 -5.80%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $1,045.90 -4.22%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $323.30 -2.51%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $901.63 -1.68%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $248.91 -1.68%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $330.94 -1.39%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $70.71 -1.28%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $94.48 -1.05%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $128.75 -1.04%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $429.17 -1.00%