In Tuesday's trading, stocks exhibited slight weakness, retreating from the robust upward trend experienced in the previous session. All major average indicators had tilted downward, although selling pressure remained fairly tempered.
By this time, most major averages were veering close to their lowest points of the session. The Dow had fallen by 62.21 points or 0.2% to 38,271.24, the Nasdaq reduced by 68.81 points or 0.4% to 15,559.24, and the S&P 500 slide by 8.27 points or 0.2% to 4,919.66.
This slight weakness in Wall Street could be the result of traders cashing in on Monday's rally, which drove the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs. With the impending Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday, some traders likely decided to secure profits. Although interest rates are expected to remain unchanged, the accompanying statement could markedly influence the rate outlook.
Hope for a March rate cut has waned recently, and many economists now predict that the Fed will wait until May to initiate a reduction. Stocks experienced further slump following a Labor Department report revealing an unforeseen rise in job openings in December. The department announced a rise in job openings to 9.03 million in December, up from 8.93 million in November—an increase contrary to economists' prediction of a dip.
The stock market also suffered as shares of UPS declined due to weaker than expected fourth-quarter revenues and a disappointing 2024 guidance. Contrarily, General Motors' shares increased by 6.8% after it reported better than expected fourth-quarter results and an optimistic 2024 profit outlook.
In sector news, despite modest crude oil price increases, oil service stocks experienced a significant drop leading to a 3.8% fall in the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. There was also noticeable weakness among airline stocks, gold, biotechnology, and commercial real estate stocks. Housing stocks, however, showed mild strength.
International trading presented a mixed performance across the Asia-Pacific markets on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose by 0.1% and 0.3% respectively, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index experienced a substantial fall of 2.3%.
In contrast, all main European markets experienced a shift upward. The UK's FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.6%, France's CAC 40 Index increased by 0.3%, and the German DAX Index fell by 0.1%. In the bond market, the yield on the primary ten-year note increased by a negligible extent to 4.093% as treasuries drew near to the unchanged line after an initial climb.
