US open: Stocks mixed as bond yields remain elevated

dl wall street new york city wall st nyc new york stock exchange nyse nasdaq us usa united states of america trading finance unsplash — Sharecast / Roberto Junior via Unsplash

Major indices were mixed early on Tuesday as oil prices eased slightly but bond yields remained elevated.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.12% at 41,903.99, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.54% to 5,726.88 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.94% firmer at 18,092.23.

The Dow opened 50.25 points lower on Tuesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

Tuesday's primary looked set to be August's goods trade balance figures, which revealed the US trade deficit narrowed to -$70.4bn, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the lowest reading in five months. Economists expected to see a drop from -$78.8bn to -$70.6bn. Exports increased 2% to a record high of $271.8bn, while imports dropped 0.9% to $342.2bn.

Elsewhere on the macro front, the National Federation of Independent Business' September optimism index increased to 91.5 in September, missing forecasts for a print of 91.7 and marking the 33rd consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98.

Still to come, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president Raphael Bostic and vice chair Philip Jefferson will deliver speeches at 1745 BST and 2330 BST, respectively.

Also in focus, West Texas Intermediate was down 3.62% in early trading at $74.35 per barrel, while Brent crude slipped 3.55% to $78.06 a barrel as investors continued to zero in on heightened tensions in the Middle East following Israel's ground invasion of Lebanon and Iran's resulting strike.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note moved above 4% on Monday and was almost two basis points higher in early trading at 4.05% - its highest level since early August.

In the corporate space, PepsiCo cut its annual organic revenue guidance again on Tuesday as it highlighted a "subdued" performance in North America in the third quarter. The drinks giant now expects organic revenue to rise by low single-digits in FY24, down from a previous forecast of approximately 4% revenue growth. It continues to expect at least an 8% increase in core constant currency earnings per share.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $225.58 1.75%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $413.46 1.32%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $413.65 1.00%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $227.87 0.84%
Visa Inc. (V) $275.89 0.77%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $286.44 0.66%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $497.49 0.58%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $228.43 0.58%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $79.54 0.56%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $318.69 0.39%