Dow Jones Today: Blue Chips Boost Dow to New Record; Nasdaq Slips as Tech Stocks Tumble
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to a new record high Tuesday, as blue chips gained while tech stocks lagged.
The Dow, which closed at its first record high in two months on Monday, was up 1.4%, a more than 500-point gain, in early afternoon trading. The S&P 500, which is just shy of a record of its own, was up 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.3%.
The Dow's upswing was being led by UnitedHealth (UNH), which was up more than 5% after the insurer reported better-than-expected earnings. Caterpillar (CAT) and Boeing (BA) were both up more than 3%.
Banking sector stocks were among the big gainers on the S&P 500 after better-than-expected earnings reports. Bank of America (BAC) and State Street (STT) were both up about 5%. Charles Schwab (SCHW) was the biggest decliner, sliding nearly 9% after releasing results.
Major stock indexes have been supported in recent weeks by gains for large-cap technology stocks and expectations the Federal Reserve will cut its influential fed funds rate as soon as September.
On Tuesday, several big-name tech stocks were moving lower, with chipmakers Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Micron (MU) and Broadcom (AVGO) among the decliners. Apple (AAPL), Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA) also lost ground.
As earnings reports roll out in the coming days and weeks, investors will be getting fresh views on how companies are navigating an environment of continued high interest rates and slowing economic activity.
Treasury yields, which have fallen in recent weeks as expectations of a Fed rate cut have grown, were trading around 4.19%, down from the day before but higher than earlier Tuesday, after retail sales data came in stronger than expected.
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