Stocks Inch Higher, Tesla Rebounds, Bitcoin Holds Below $70,000: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?

Wall Street is set to break a two-day losing streak on Tuesday, as major indices trended positively during midday trading in New York. The S&P 500 saw a modest uptick of 0.3% for the day, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq 100 and the Russell 2000 experiencing a 0.2% surge.

Market volatility remained remarkably low, with the VIX index holding below the 13 mark. It is currently on course for its third consecutive week of declines, marking the longest such streak since November 2023.

Turning to economic indicators, new orders for manufactured durable goods increased by 1.4% month-over-month in February 2024, surpassing market expectations of a 1.1% rise. This comes after a downwardly revised 6.9% decline in January.

Both treasury yields and the U.S. dollar remained unchanged, allowing gold to inch up to $2,180 per ounce, coming tantalizingly close to its all-time high.

Sector performance showed minimal movement, reflecting range-bound trading activity. Among industries, retail stocks, as tracked by the iShares S&P Retail ETF XRT, showed the strongest gains, rising by 1%, while energy services, as monitored through the VanEck Oil Services ETF OIH, lagged behind.

Bitcoin BTC/USD held below the psychological $70,000 mark, marginally lower for the day.

Tuesday’s Performance In Major Equity Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-Day %chg
S&P 500	5,233.32	0.3%
Nasdaq 100	18,319.47	0.2%
Russell 2000	2,080.00	0.2%
Dow Jones	39,393.39	0.2%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.2% higher to $520.78, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA fell 0.2% to $393.68 and the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ inched 0.2% higher to $445.74, according to Benzinga Pro data. 

Sector-wise, the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY was the top performer for the day, up 0.6%, while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund XLU was the laggard, down 0.8%.

Tuesday’s Stock Movers

• Tesla Inc. TSLA rose nearly 4% Tuesday, after new reports suggest Italy has approached the EV maker about electric truck production.
• United Parcel Service Inc. UPS fell over 7%, as investor negatively reacted to the latest remarks from UPS CEO Carol Tomé.
• McCormick & Co. Inc. MKC shot higher by over 10% on stronger-than-expected earnings results.
• Seagate Technology Holdings plc STX rose by 9% after Morgan Stanley issued a bullish note.
• Tandem Diabetes Care Inc. TNDM rallied 9% after Stifel upgraded the stock to a Buy, raising the price target from $24 to $37.
• Viking Therapeutics Inc. VKTX rallied 22% on positive results in a study of a potential obesity drug.
• Companies reporting their earnings after market close are GameStop Corp. GME, nCino, Inc. NCNO, and Progress Software Corporation PRGS.

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Image generated using artificial intelligence with Midjourney.