Wall Street Indexes Trade Around Flatline and Treasury Yields Retain Downward Bias

Barry Adams
28 Aug, 2024
New York City

Benchmark indexes traded in a tight range in early trading as investors reacted to corporate results in the absence of economic news. 

Tech and semiconductor stocks were in focus for the third consecutive day ahead of Nvidia Corp.'s results after the close of regular trading hours today. 

Investors are looking for clues about the company's progress in holding its leadership position in artificial intelligence technology, revenue growth outlook, and new higher-margin products in the coming weeks. 

Semiconductor equipment and technology stocks traded sideways ahead of Nvidia's earnings, and the company is seen as a bellwether for artificial intelligence-related spending by Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet. 

 

U.S. Indexes and Treasury Yields

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.03% to 5,621.23, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5% to 17,673.30, and the Russell 2000 index declined 0.3% to 2,196.18. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged lower to 3.87%, 10-year Treasury notes decreased to 3.82%, and 30-year Treasury bonds inched lower to 4.12%.

WTI crude oil decreased $1.03 to $74.46 a barrel, and natural gas prices edged down 2 cents to $2.06 a thermal unit.

Gold fell by $26.30 to $2,499.22 an ounce, and silver increased by $0.71 to $29.30.

The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of foreign currencies, edged higher to 101.10.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Nordstrom increased 4.5% to $22.11, and the luxury apparel and accessories retailer reported better-than-estimated second-quarter revenue and earnings.

The retailer also lifted its annual sales outlook despite the macroeconomic uncertainty. 

PVH Corp. dropped 7.8% to $22.11, and the apparel manufacturer reported revenue that matched analysts' expectations, but the company's current quarter outlook disappointed investors. 

Berkshire Hathaway Class B increased 1% to $465.56, and the company said it sold 24.7 million shares of Bank of America and extended its sale to $5 billion over the last two months. 

Berkshire's share in Bank of America dropped to 11.6% after the latest sale. 

Abercrombie & Fitch declined 4.5% to $141.87 despite the specialty apparel retailer reporting higher sales and earnings in its fiscal second quarter and the company lifting its annual outlook. 

Revenue increased 21% to $1.1 billion, net income soared to $133 million from $57 million, and earnings per share advanced to $2.50 from $1.10 a year ago. 

The company revised its full-year sales to increase between 12% and 13%, from the previous estimate of an increase of 10%. 

Foot Locker plunged 15.3% to $27.77, and the footwear retailer reported better-than-expected sales and smaller-than-expected loss in the latest quarter. 

Revenue in the latest quarter increased 1.9% to $1.89 billion from $1.86 billion, net loss expanded to $12 million from $5 million, and diluted loss per share rose to 13 cents from 5 cents a year earlier. 

Comparable sales in the latest quarter increased 2.6%, driven by global Foot Locker and Kinds Foot Locker sales rise of 5.2%.