US markets end mostly higher on Tuesday

08 May 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday. Markets saw modest strength throughout much of the trading session but gave back ground in afternoon trading to end the day little changed. The Dow still managed to close higher for the fifth consecutive session, reaching its best closing level in a month. However, buying interest waned after Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari suggested interest rates may need to remain at current levels for an extended period. Kashkari said ‘I would need to see multiple positive inflation readings suggesting that the disinflation process is on track before cutting rates.’ Kashkari also said he could not rule out the Fed once again raising rates, calling the bar for hiking rates quite high but not infinite.

On the sectoral front, Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets. Airline stocks showed a substantial move to the downside, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index tumbling by 2.7 percent. Considerable weakness also emerged among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. On the other hand, utilities stocks turned in a strong performance on the day, driving the Dow Jones Utility Average up by 1.3 percent. Among individual stocks, shares of Disney (DIS) fell sharply even though the entertainment giant reported better than expected fiscal third quarter earnings.

Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 31.99 points or 0.08 percent to 38,884.26 and S&P 500 was up by 6.96 points or 0.13 percent to 5,187.7, while Nasdaq fell 16.69 points or 0.1 percent to 16,332.56.