(RTTNews) – With traders looking ahead to remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, stocks are turning in a lackluster performance during trading on Tuesday. The major averages are currently on opposites sides of the unchanged line after trending higher over the past few sessions.
While the Dow is up 248.08 points or 0.5 percent at 46,629.62, the S&P 500 is down 0.53 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 6,693.22 and the Nasdaq is down 62.55 points or 0.3 percent at 22,726.42.
The Dow has reached a new record intraday high due in part to a strong gain by shares of Boeing (BA), with the aerospace giant jumping by 2.8 percent.
Boeing is bouncing off its lowest closing level in over two months after announcing Uzbekistan Airways plans to acquire up to 22 787 Dreamliners.
U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue also said the U.S. and China are in the final stages of negotiations for a “huge” Boeing aircraft order, according to Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, a pullback by shares of Nvidia (NVDA) is weighing on the Nasdaq, with the chipmaker slumping by 2.1 percent after surging nearly 4 percent to a new record closing high on Monday.
The rally in the previous session came after Nvidia and OpenAI announced a strategic partnership to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia systems for OpenAI’s next-generation AI infrastructure.
The choppy trading by the broader markets comes as Powell is due to speak on the economic outlook at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce 2025 Economic Outlook Luncheon later this afternoon.
The speech comes after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter point last Wednesday.
In remarks following the decision, Powell described the move as a “risk management cut” amid some signs of weakness in the labor market.
The Fed is widely expected to continue cutting rates at its next two monetary policy meetings in October and December, and traders will be looking to Powell’s remarks to shed additional light on the outlook for rates.
However, the Fed chief is likely to reiterate that future rate decisions will be based on incoming economic data such as Friday’s closely watched readings on consumer price inflation.
Sector News
Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, energy stocks have moved sharply higher along with the price of crude oil.
With crude for November delivery surging $1.26 to $63.54 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is up by 5.7 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index is up by 2.9 percent.
Significant strength is also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.
Banking and gold stocks are also turning in strong performances on the day, while retail stocks have shown a notable move to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday, with Japanese markets closed for a holiday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid by 0.7 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries continue to show a lack of direction after ending the previous session roughly flat. Currently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 4.143 percent.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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