Stocks Hold Steady On Mixed Fed Remarks, First Solar Rallies, Bitcoin Falls Below $70,000: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?

It’s a rather quiet session on Tuesday, with major U.S. averages trading around the flatline at midday trading in New York.

Traders remained on the sidelines ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes and Nvidia Corp. NVDA earnings report.

Tuesday saw Federal Reserve officials making public statements with mixed messages.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he expects inflation to decline but at a slow pace, and he does not foresee a rate cut before the fourth quarter.

Board member Christopher J. Waller, on a more dovish note, said the risk of inflation reaccelerating is off the table and he does not expect a rate hike.

Sectors and industries were little moved, with financials and solar stocks slightly outperforming.

Small caps softened, with the iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM falling 0.3%. Treasury yields inched lower, with the benchmark 10-year yield dropping 4 basis points to 4.41%, on track to snap a three-straight session of yield gains.

Metal commodities paused for a breather, after both gold and copper hit fresh record highs on Monday. Crude oil fell 1.6%.

In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin BTC/USD fell 2.2% to $69,900, reflecting some waning investor sentiment toward risky assets.

Tuesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was flat at $530.15, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA was flat at $398.18 and the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ was also unchanged at $454.93, according to Benzinga Pro data. 

Sector-wise, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF outperformed, up by 0.3%. The Industrial Select Select Sector SPDR Fund XLI was the laggard, down 0.5%.

Tuesday’s Stock Movers

• Palo Alto Networks Inc. PANW started the session 6% lower following softer-than-expected guidance. However, the tech stock recovered some gains during the morning session.
• Lowes Companies Inc. LOW fell 3% after flagging emerging margin pressures in Q2.
• Other stocks reacting to earnings were AutoZone Inc. AZO down 4.3%, Eagle Materials Inc. EXP down 7%, Amer Sports Inc. AS down 8%, Macys Inc. M flat for the day, Keysight Technologies Inc. KEYS, Zoom Video Communications Inc. ZM up 0.8%, Nordson Corp. NDSN down 8.6%.
• First Solar Inc. FSLR rallied nearly 6%, marking the best performance among S&P 500 stocks, after UBS raised the price target from $252 to $270, keeping a Buy rating.
• Companies expected to report their earnings after the close include Toll Brothers Inc. TOL, XP Inc. XP, Modine Manufacturing Company MOD, Skyline Champion Corp. SKY and Alvotech ALVO

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