US Stocks Ease Ahead Of Key Tech Earnings, UPS Sinks, General Motors Rallies: What's Driving Markets Tuesday?

Traders are adopting a more cautious stance toward the stock market on Tuesday as they await the earnings reports of major tech companies and the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were in the red around noon in New York trading, while blue-chip stocks in the Dow are showing slight strength. The U.S. dollar and Treasury yields are holding steady.

Some of the prominent tech giants are set to release their earnings after the close of Tuesday’s market session include Microsoft Corp. MSFT, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD.

On the economic data front, the JOLTS report unexpectedly revealed a rise in job openings to 9.03 million, surpassing the forecasted 8.75 million. Additionally, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index in the U.S. increased by 5.4% year-on-year in November 2023, reaching a one-year high, compared to a 4.9% rise in October but falling below market expectations of 5.8%.

Tuesday’s Performance In Major Indices, ETFs

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.2% lower to $490.50, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA edged 0.1% higher to $383.73 and the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ fell 0.7% to $425.13, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Sector-wise, the Financials Select Sector Fund XLF outperformed, up 1.1%. The Technology Select Sector Fund XLK underperformed, down 0.9%.

Tuesday’s Stock Movers

• United Parcel Service Inc. UPS dropped over 7%, its largest decline since April 2023, after reporting weaker-than-expected revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023. The company also slashed 12,000 jobs due to worsening economic outlook.
• General Motors Company rose over 8% after reporting better-than-expected results last quarter and a bullish earnings outlook for 2024.
• Danaher Corp. DHR rose 3.5% on a fourth-quarter earnings beat, although the company warned of sales weakness in 2024.
• MSCI Inc. MSCI rose 10% after fourth-quarter results outpaced estimates.
• Luxury EV maker Lucid Group Inc. LCID rose 10%, after closing 28% higher a day earlier, as the company appointed Matt Everitt as general counsel, overseeing Lucid's legal affairs globally.
• Schlumberger N.V. SLB tumbled over 8% in a broader oilfield-service providers decline after the Saudi government ordered Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Aramco, not to increase its oil output.

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