Stocks drifted to a mixed finish Tuesday after flirting with record highs.
- The S&P 500 fell 23.01 points, or 0.3%, to 6,941.81 after briefly rising above its all-time high, which was set a couple weeks ago.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52.27 points, or 0.1%, to 50,188.14, adding to its own record.
- The Nasdaq composite fell 136.20 points, or 0.6%, to 23,102.47.
The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields sank following a discouraging report on how much money US retailers made in December, the
AP reports. That raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year to boost the economy. Shoppers spent roughly the same amount in December as they did in November, less than the modest growth that economists expected. That could signal a loss of momentum for overall spending by US households, which is the main engine of the economy.
On Wall Street, mixed reactions to the latest profit reports from big US companies helped to keep the market in check. Coca-Cola fell 1.5% after its growth in revenue for the latest quarter fell short of analysts' expectations. It also gave a forecast for an important underlying measure of growth this upcoming year that was less than some analysts expected. S&P Global dropped 9.7% after giving a forecast for profit in the upcoming year that fell short of analysts' expectations. The company famous for its stock indexes has been struggling recently with worries that competitors powered by artificial-intelligence technology may steal customers for its data services. Its stock came into the day with a loss of 15% for the year so far.
On the winning side, Hasbro climbed 7.5% after topping analysts' expectations for profit and revenue in the latest quarter. The toymaker credited strength for its Magic: The Gathering game in particular, and it announced a program to send up to $1 billion of cash to investors by buying back its own stock DuPont rose 5% after the chemical giant reported better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also gave a forecast for profit in 2026 that topped analysts' expectations.
- Outside of earnings reports, Warner Bros. Discovery climbed 2.2% after Paramount said it upped its offer to buy the entertainment company. Paramount is increasing its offer of $30 per share by 25 cents per share for each quarter that its buyout has not closed past the end of this year. It's to show how confident Paramount is that its deal would get an OK from government regulators. Paramount also said it would pay $2.8 billion to help Warner Bros. Discovery get out of its buyout deal with Netflix. Paramount Skydance's stock added 1.5%, while Netflix rose 0.9%.
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