US stocks retreat as traders digest earnings reports

Stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, taking a pause from their recent rally as traders analysed the latest corporate earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 324.80 points, or 0.75 per cent, closing at 42,740.42 after reaching a new intraday record before reversing course. The S&P 500 declined 0.76 per cent to finish at 5,815.26, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.01 per cent to 18,315.59.

Shares of ASML Holding plummeted more than 15 per cent after the Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer released its earnings early, coupled with a weaker-than-expected sales forecast for 2025.

Nvidia and AMD saw their stock prices drop by 4.5 per cent and 5.2 per cent, respectively, contributing to a 5.4 per cent decline in the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), marking its worst performance since September 3.

UnitedHealth shares tumbled 8.1 per cent after the healthcare giant revised its earnings guidance downward due to ongoing challenges stemming from a cyberattack earlier in the year.

On a brighter note, United Airlines gained 0.8 per cent after it announced a $1.5 billion share buyback after reporting higher-than-expected earnings for the busy summer travel season, along with a positive outlook for the final quarter of the year.

To date, around 40 S&P 500 companies have reported their third-quarter results, with 80 per cent surpassing analyst expectations, according to FactSet.

Wall Street recently enjoyed a winning session that pushed the S&P 500 and Dow to all-time highs, with the Dow gaining over 200 points to close above 43,000 for the first time.

Despite Tuesday’s losses, the three major indices remain up for the month and appear poised to navigate a traditionally volatile period.

In commodities, oil prices plunged around 4 per cent to a near two-week low on Tuesday, driven by a weaker demand outlook and a report indicating that Israel would refrain from attacking Iranian nuclear and oil facilities, which alleviated concerns about potential supply disruptions.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent fall.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7.50am was buying 67.03 US cents.

Commodities

Gold added 0.49 per cent. Silver gained 1.13 per cent. Copper lost 1.49 per cent. Oil dropped 3.86 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed lower. London’s FTSE fell 0.52 per cent, Frankfurt lost 0.11 per cent, and Paris dropped 1.05 per cent.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.77 per cent , while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 3.67 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 2.53 per cent.

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.79 per cent higher at 8318.

Ex-dividends
WAM Alternative Assets (ASX:WMA) is paying 2.6 cents fully franked
Future Generation Australia (ASX:FGX) is paying 3.5 cents fully franked
Horizon Oil (ASX:HZN) is paying 1.5 cents unfranked

Dividends payable

Sims Ltd (ASX:SGM)
Comms Group Ltd (ASX:CCG)
IVE Group Ltd (ASX:IGL)
Wagners Holding Co Ltd (ASX:WGN)

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

Disclaimer

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