US Stocks Climb Before Big Tech Earnings, Fed Meeting As China Stimulus Boosts Excitement: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?

Zinger Key Points
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average is aiming for its twelfth consecutive session in the green, an achievement not seen since 1987.
  • The futures market has priced in a near certainty of a 25-basis-point move in July; the Fed commentary on forward rate outlook is the key.

Tuesday is a green session for the U.S. stock market, with all major averages rising in lockstep as investors await earnings reports from big-tech companies such as Microsoft Corp. MSFT and Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL after the closing bell.

The Dow Jones is on track to end its twelfth consecutive days of advances, a stretch not seen since 1987.

Chinese authorities held the Politburo meeting yesterday, promising to support and promote the country’s economic recovery but providing no further details. Hong Kong shares closed 4% higher and emerging-market stocks rallied. Metals also surged.

Investors now also eagerly await the crucial Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday, with the Federal Reserve likely expected to hike by 0.25% to 5.25%-5.5%, pushing borrowing rates to the highest in over two decades.

Cues From Tuesday's Trading:

The S&P 500 Index rose 0.4%, on track to retest its 2023’s highs at 4,579 levels.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 0.3%, extending the winning streak to the twelfth consecutive day.

The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.9%, while small caps in the Russell 2000 index rose 0.3%.

US Index Performance On Tuesday

Index Performance (+/-)Value
Nasdaq 100+0.85%15,597.55
S&P 500 Index+0.38%4,572.13
Dow Industrial+0.25%35,509.83
Russell 2000+0.33%1,972.15

Tuesday’s Trading In Major US Equity ETFs: In midday trading on Tuesday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.4% higher to $456, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA rose 0.3% to $354.97 and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ was 0.9% higher to $379.59, according to Benzinga Pro data.

The best-performing sector for the day was the the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund XLB, up by 1.9%, followed by the the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK, up 1.2%.

The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund XLRE was the laggard, down 0.6%, followed by the Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund XLI, down 0.4%.

Latest Economic Data:

In May 2023, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index in the United States fell 1.7% year on year, the same as in April and the largest drop since April 2012. Nonetheless, the figure was less than the expected 2.3% drop.

In monthly terms, the home price index rose 1.5% in May 2023, marking a fourth straight month of increases.

The Federal House Finance Agency reported the average prices of single-family houses rose by 2.8% year-on-year in May 2023, the lowest since April 2012, and compared with market expectations of a 2.6% rise.

See also: How To Trade Futures

Stocks In Focus:

  • General Electric Co. GE rose 6.3% after reporting better-than-expected results last quarter.
  • 3M Co. MMM rose 5% in reaction to their earnings, while Spotify Technologies S.A. SPOT plunged 15% on a lackluster earnings report.
  • Packaging Corporation of America PKG rose over 10%, outperforming all other S&P 500 components, as the company posts a big second-quarter EPS beat and improving margins.
  • Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK fell 9%, despite beating expectations, as the company expected a cloudier outlook ahead.
  • Raytheon Technologies Corp. RTX tumbled 12% as the company discovered contamination in the metal used to make some engine parts required planes to be inspected to check if repairs were required.
  • General Motors Co. GM fell 3.9% despite beating earnings expectations after the company announce it would bring back the Chevy Bolt EV amid cost-cutting pressures.
  • The companies reporting after the market close include Microsoft Corp. MSFT, Alphabet, Inc. GOOGL GOOG, Snap, Inc. SNAP, Teladoc Health, Inc. TDOC and Visa, Inc. V.

Commodities, Bonds, Other Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil rose 1%, with a barrel of WTI-grade crude trading at $79.59. The United States Oil Fund ETF USO was 0.8% higher to $71.30.  

Treasury yields moved slightly, with the 10-year yield up by 3 basis points to 3.9% and the two-year yield down by 2 basis points to 4.9%. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT was 0.2% lower for the day. 

The dollar was flat, with the U.S. dollar index, which is tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP, at 101.4 levels. The EUR/USD pair, which is tracked by the Invesco CurrecyShares Euro Currency Trust FXE, was 0.2% lower to 1.1036.

European equity indexes had a mixed session. The SPDR DJ Euro STOXX 50 Etf  FEZ fell 0.3%. 

Gold rose 0.4% to $1,961/oz. The SPDR Gold Trust GLD was 0.4% higher to $182. Silver rallied 1.3% to $24.64, with the iShares Silver Trust SLV up 1.2% to $22.6. Bitcoin BTC/USD was flat at $29,218.

Staff writer Piero Cingari updated this report midday Friday. 

Read Next: Federal Reserve Gears Up For Another Rate Hike In Crucial Week For Central Banks

Photo via Shutterstock.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Date
ticker
name
Actual EPS
EPS Surprise
Actual Rev
Rev Surprise
Posted In: EarningsEquitiesNewsFuturesPreviewsTop StoriesEconomicsFederal ReservePre-Market OutlookMarketsMoversTrading Ideasinterest rateJerome Powell
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!

Loading...