US stocks finish lower for second consecutive day

Stocks fell Tuesday, the first trading day of the week, as a rally that drove the market to levels not seen in more than a year took a breather.

Investors are coming off of a strong week, with the S&P 500 hitting its highest level since April 2022. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite posted their best weekly performances since March, with the broad-market benchmark rising 2.6 per cent and the tech-heavy index adding 3.25 per cent. It was also the S&P 500′s fifth positive week in a row — a first since November 2021 — and the Nasdaq’s eighth consecutive positive week, a feat it previously accomplished in 2019.

However last night, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 245.25 points, or 0.72 per cent, to 34,053.87. The S&P 500 slid 0.47 per cent to 4,388.71, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.16 per cent to 13,667.29.

Decliners outpaced advancers on the New York Stock Exchange 2.2 to 1 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Intel, Nike and Boeing dragged on the Dow, each down by more than 3 per cent.

Homebuilders outperformed following a stronger-than-expected housing report. PulteGroup, D.R. Horton and Lennar were each higher by more than 1 per cent. Elsewhere, Nvidia also bucked the trend, up more than 2 per cent while the major indexes sagged.

Electric-vehicle startup, Rivian, has reached an agreement with Tesla to expand charging access for Rivian drivers by granting them the ability to use Tesla Superchargers in the US and Canada starting in 2024, while also incorporating Tesla's charging-port configuration in future Rivian models from 2025 onwards.

Traders absorbed May US housing starts data that topped estimates. There were 1.63 million starts last month, higher than the 1.39 million housing starts expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.

In crypto news, Bitcoin broke through the $28,000 barrier to hit its highest trading close since May 7, fueled by positive industry news and a 5 per cent increase from the previous day, as it continued its upward trend, up 70 per cent for the year.

Investors will now look toward a quarterly report from shipping giant FedEx on Tuesday after the closing bell.

Overall, all US sectors closed lower except for Consumer Discretionary. Energy was the biggest laggard.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent fall

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7:15 AM was buying 67.86 US cents.

Commodities

Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.4 per cent fall.

Gold lost 1.21 per cent. Silver dropped 3.82 per cent. Copper lost 0.19 and oil was down 1.78 per cent.

Figures around the globe

Across the Atlantic, European markets closed lower. London’s FTSE fell 0.25 per cent, Frankfurt lost 0.55 per cent while Paris closed 0.27 per cent lower.

In Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.06 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.54 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.47 per cent lower.

Yesterday, the Australian sharemarket closed 0.86 per cent higher at 7358.

Ex-dividends

Kelly Partners Group (ASX:KPG) is paying 0.3993 cents fully franked

Dividends payable

Oceania Healthcare (ASX:OCA)
Vita Group (ASX:VTG)
Virgin Money UK PLC (ASX:VUK)

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.

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