U.S. Stocks Hold Near Record Highs, Steep Decline In Durable Goods Orders

Barry Adams
27 Feb, 2024
New York City

Stocks traded in a narrow range for the second day in a row, and benchmark indexes hovered near highs as investors prepared for a barrage of economic releases later this week. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite edged slightly lower, and Treasury yields edged down as investors digested the release of factory orders and new home sales data. 

 

Durable Goods Orders Decline in January 

Seasonally adjusted factory orders decreased 6.1% from the previous month in January, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday. 

The orders declined 0.8% from a year ago, and the monthly decline in orders was the steepest decline since April 2020. 

Excluding large-ticket transportation, orders declined 0.3%, and excluding defense, new orders fell 7.3% from the previous month. 

New orders of non-defense capital goods, excluding volatile aircraft orders, which provides a better insight into capital expenditure by businesses, increased 0.1% from the previous month but fell 0.2% from a year ago. 

 

U.S. indexes and Yields

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.3% to 5,074.64, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.02% to 15,992.80. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes increased to 4.70%, 10-year Treasury notes inched down to 4.29%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged down to 4.41%.

WTI crude oil decreased $0.10 to $77.41 a barrel, and natural gas prices increased 0.1 cent to $1.74 a thermal unit.

Gold increased by $7.60 to $2,038.26 an ounce, and silver added 16 cents to $22.68. 

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 103.69.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

AutoZone rose 2% to $2,825.0 after the automotive parts retailer reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings in its fiscal second quarter. 

Revenue in the fiscal second quarter rose to $3.85 billion, and earnings advanced to $28.89 per share. 

Macy's declined 1.9% to $19.0 after the apparel retailer reported slightly lower-than-expected revenue in the fourth quarter and offered a cautious sales outlook in the current quarter. 

The retailer reported revenue in its latest quarter of $8.12 billion and estimated full-year revenue between $22.2 billion and $22.9 billion. 

Lowe's Companies decreased 0.6% to $230.01 after the home improvement retailer reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. 

The retailer also estimated full-year revenue in the current fiscal year to decline between $84 billion and $85 billion, from $86.4 billion in the fiscal year 2023. 

Zoom Video Communications rose 9% to $68.80 after the online communication platform reported slightly better-than-expected quarterly revenue.