Wall Street Closes Mixed; Only Nasdaq Posts Gains

Wall Street ended Tuesday with mixed performances across its main indexes, as investors reassessed interest rate expectations and reviewed third-quarter earnings reports.

While the Nasdaq Composite closed with gains, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 both edged lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, made up of 30 major companies, dipped 0.02% to 42,924.89 points. The S&P 500, which tracks 500 large-cap stocks, slipped 0.05% to 5,821.20 points. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.18% to 18,573.13 points, supported by strength in technology shares.

Long-term U.S. Treasury yields increased, reflecting growing bets that the Federal Reserve may slow the pace of future rate cuts. This rise in yields has tempered the recent stock market rebound, as higher yields often make equities less attractive to investors.

In earnings news, Philip Morris shares surged 10.5% after the company raised its full-year guidance, and General Motors jumped 9.8% for the same reason.

After the market closed, McDonald’s shares dropped 6%—at one point falling as much as 10%—after the company reported an E. coli outbreak linked to one of its burgers, resulting in one death and 10 hospitalizations.

In other news, after peaking at 9.4% during the third quarter of 2022, global inflation is projected to decline to 3.5% by the end of next year, slightly below pre-pandemic levels.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) notes that the global economy has shown remarkable resilience throughout the disinflationary period, which began in 2021. However, it cautions that uncertainty remains regarding how countries will manage their monetary and fiscal policies to achieve stability.

The IMF emphasizes that while inflationary pressures are easing, the challenge lies in ensuring coordinated policy adjustments to avoid economic disruptions and maintain steady growth.