Nasdaq Slides Firmly In Negative Territory, Dow Posting Modest Loss

After showing a lack of direction earlier in the session, stocks have moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. With the downward move, the major averages are adding to the steep losses posted in the previous session.

Currently, the major averages are all in negative territory, although the Dow is down just 38.81 points or 0.1 percent at 33,810.65. The Nasdaq is down 89.55 points or 0.8 percent at 10,959.95 and the S&P 500 is down 15.07 points or 0.4 percent at 3,948.87.

The weakness that has emerged on Wall Street comes amid lingering uncertainty about the situation in China following widespread protests over the country’s Covid restrictions.

Mainland China reported the first decrease in new Covid infections in more than a week on Monday, generating some positive sentiment.

Chinese health officials also released a plan to boost vaccinations for elderly people and said they are “closely watching” the virus as it evolves and mutates.

The officials defended China’s zero-Covid policy at a press briefing on Tuesday but said lockdowns would be lifted “as quickly as possible.”

However, traders have seen their hopes for an easing of Covid restrictions in China dashed by recent events, leading to some hesitation.

Traders are also looking ahead of the release of some key economic data in the coming days, including the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday as well as remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The Conference Board released a report this morning showing a modest decrease in U.S. consumer confidence in the month of November.

Sector News

Despite the weakness being shown by the broader markets, steel stocks continue to see substantial strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index surging by 3.0 percent.

Significant strength also remains visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.4 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

The rally by gold stocks comes as the price of gold for February delivery is climbing $8.20 to $1,763.50 an ounce.

Energy, tobacco and transportation stocks are also seeing notable strength, while utilities stocks have moved to the downside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. China’s Shanghai Composite Index surged by 2.3 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index soared by 5.2 percent, although Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index bucked the uptrend and fell by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index edged down by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are seeing further downside after ending the previous session modestly lower. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.9 basis points at 3.742 percent.

Source: Read Full Article