Stocks were mostly edging lower on Tuesdaym amid signs that the recent rally that’s powered both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to all-time highs may be starting to fizzle out.
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 9 points, or less than 0.1%. However, S&P 500 futures and contracts tied to the Nasdaq 100 were trading sightly lower.
The latter two indexes both notched records on Monday, despite a lack of obvious factors moving markets. The key focus for the rest of this week is likely to be a deluge of second-quarter earnings reports that could give investors a better sense of how consumer spending is holding up amid worries about inflation and tariffs.
“Stocks gained, the dollar slipped, gold advanced, and Treasuries rallied on Monday, despite a distinct lack of catalysts,” Michael Brown, strategist at the foreign exchange broker Pepperstone, said. “‘Summer markets’ have well and truly arrived, judging by the relatively turgid nature of trade yesterday.”
Soft drinks maker Coca-Cola and homebuilder D.R. Horton are among the companies set to post results ahead of the opening bell, and investors will also be on the lookout for any further trade news ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline, when higher U.S. tariffs are set to take effect.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to give a speech in Washington, D.C.–although he won’t be able to discuss interest rates with the central bank in blackout mode ahead of next week’s policy decision.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note ticked up 1 basis point to 4.39% in early trading. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a weighted basket of rival currencies, climbed 0.1%, and gold futures slipped 0.3%.