U.S. stocks wobbled between gains and losses on Wall Street in afternoon trading Tuesday as investors shifted to a more cautious mood a day after the market reached its most recent record high.
Technology stocks slipped after seesawing earlier in the day. Financial stocks fell as bond yields eased. That countered broader gains from companies that are depending on continued economic growth to recover.
The S&P 500 index was up 0.1% as of 2:22 p.m. Eastern, within striking distance of another all-time high. Stocks within the index were nearly evenly split between gainers and losers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 52 points, or 0.2%, to 33,474 and the Nasdaq rose 0.2%.
Much of the churn within the market is occurring as Wall Street assesses the health and speed of the economic recovery. Investors have been weighing concerns about higher inflation as the economy grows, along with expectations that retailers and other service sector stocks will make solid gains as the world moves past the pandemic and returns to some semblance of normalcy. Gap rose 3.4%, while Wynn Resorts gained 4.7%.
There’s been strong support for many of the sectors and companies beaten down by the pandemic as vaccine distribution helps businesses reopen, while government stimulus helps shore up businesses in the interim. Even as that shift occurs, technology and other stocks that benefitted from the shutdowns still look fundamentally strong, said Jeff Buchbinder, equity strategist at LPL Financial.
“We’re seeing this battle play out here in markets every day,” he said. “That’s going to drive some churn.”
Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 1.65% from 1.72% late Monday. That helped pull banks lower, as they rely on higher yields to charge more lucrative interest on loans. JPMorgan Chase fell 0.9%.
The International Monetary Fund expects global economic growth to accelerate this year as vaccine distribution ramps up and the world rebounds. The 190-country lending agency said it expects the world economy to expand 6% in 2021, up from the 5.5% it had forecast in January. That would be the fastest expansion in IMF records dating back to 1980.
The Labor Department in the U.S. reported that job openings reached the highest level on record in February, a harbinger of healthy hiring and a hopeful sign for those looking for work. That upbeat report follows encouraging reports over the last week on job growth and improvements in the services sector, which is one of the hardest hit areas of the economy from the pandemic.
Swiss bank Credit Suisse said it expects a $4.7 billion loss related to a default of by a U.S. hedge fund. Two top executives are leaving the bank. Credit Suisse also suspended a stock buyback program and cut its dividend. The bank’s U.S.-listed shares, which already fell sharply last week after initial news of the default came out, were little changed on Tuesday.
In Europe, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.5%, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.7% and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.3%. Markets in Asia were mixed.
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