S&P 500, Nasdaq Extend Losses to Third Month with 3% Decline

Barry Adams
31 Oct, 2023
New York City

On the final day of the month, market indexes on Wall Street edged slightly lower as investors booked losses in the month after Treasury yields surged to 16-year highs.

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite are set to decline about 3% in October, and both indexes extended losses for the third month in a row.

Investors are focused on the Fed's interest rate decision on Wednesday, and the central bank is expected to hold rates steady for the second time in a row.

Market participants are also hoping that the Fed policymakers may provide more clarity on the future direction of interest rates and hold rates at the final and next meeting in December.

In Tuesday's trading, investors reacted to earnings releases and awaited Apple Inc.'s quarterly results after the close on Thursday.

 

U.S. indexes and Yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.7% to 4,148.90, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6% to 12,722.30.

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes decreased to 5.07%, 10-year Treasury notes inched lower to 4.83%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged down to 5.0%.

Crude oil decreased $0.25 to $82.59 a barrel, and natural gas prices rose 11 cents to $3.47 a thermal unit.

Gold increased $2.02 to $1,997.50 an ounce following the weakness in 10-year Treasury yields.

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged higher to 106.48, and the index is set to decline in the month after rising for two months in a row.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Caterpillar Inc. declined 5.8% to $226.77 after the industrial equipment maker reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.

Revenue in the third quarter rose to $16.8 billion, and adjusted earnings were $5.52 per share.

However, the company forecasted sales in the current quarter would be "slightly higher" than the same year ago.

JetBlue Airways Corporation plunged 14.6% to $3.59 after the regional airline reported lower-than-expected sales and a wider-than-expected loss in the third quarter.

Revenue in the quarter was $2.35 billion, and the adjusted loss was 39 cents.

Chewy Inc. jumped 4.8% to $19.26 after Morgan Stanley analysts upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "equal weight" and lowered the stock price target to $28 from $31.

Arista Networks Inc. soared 10.5% to $193.75 after the networking gear maker reported better-than-expected quarterly results and lifted its sales outlook for the current quarter on the back of higher enterprise demand.

Simon Property Group Inc. increased 1.4% to $106.80 after the real estate mall developer lifted its annual fund flow estimate and reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Revenue in the quarter ending in September increased 7.2% to $1.41 billion, and earnings per share rose to $3.20 from $1.65 a year ago.

Pfizer Inc. decreased 0.6% to $30.39 after the drugmaker recorded charges related to its COVID vaccine and COVID antiviral treatment Paxlovid.

The company took a $5.6 billion inventory write-down in the third quarter related to COVID products.