US close: Stocks firmer as investors look to Fed decision

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street enjoyed a positive close on Tuesday, buoyed by investor anticipation for the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting and a strong earnings season. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average made modest gains of 0.08%, closing at 35,438.07 points, while the broader S&P 500 index rose 0.28% to settle at 4,567.46.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the pack, climbing 0.61% to end the day at 14,144.56.

In currency markets, the dollar was last up 0.06% on sterling to trade at 77.55p, while it climbed 0.03% to 90.48 euro cents.

The greenback also saw a slight increase of 0.02% against the yen, changing hands at JPY 140.93.

"Hopes that the Chinese government's stimulus measures will help drive domestic demand may be lending some support whilst those softer than expected PMI readings from yesterday are also serving up ammunition for policy doves at the Federal Reserve," said Joshua Mahony at Scope Markets earlier.

"Whilst a rate hike is still expected tomorrow, again numbers like this increase the prospect of the Fed's policy tightening cycle coming to an end."

US house prices surge amid rising consumer confidence

On the economic front, US house prices demonstrated an upward trend in May, according to fresh survey results.

S&P Case Shiller's National Home Price Index revealed that, after seasonal adjustments, prices across the country saw a 0.7% uptick from the prior month.

Additionally, prices in the country's 10 and 20 largest cities showed marked increases of 1.1% and 1.0% respectively.

However, on a year-to-year basis, there was a slight decrease in the home price index (HPI) of 0.5%, a marginal decline from the 0.1% dip recorded in April.

The annual rate of decline for the 10 most populous cities in the U.S. fell to -1.0% from -1.1%, while the same rate for homes in the top 20 cities stood steady at -1.7%, matching the previous month's rate.

Chicago, Cleveland, and New York emerged as the cities with the most significant annual price gains, at 4.6%, 3.9%, and 3.5%, respectively.

Elsewhere, US consumer confidence took a notable leap in July, breaking from the static range observed over the majority of the past year, according to another survey.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index reported a jump from a June reading of 110.1 to 117.0 in July, surpassing economists' expectations of 112.0.

The survey emphasised an upswing in the expectations sub-index, which rose from 80.0 to 88.3.

There was also a lesser but notable increase in a sub-index tracking the present situation, which rose from 155.3 to 160.0.

Mixed performance among Wall Street equities

In equities, shares of Goldman Sachs Group fell 1.18% as the global investment bank found itself under scrutiny, after Citigroup reduced its rating on the firm's stock to 'neutral'.

RTX Corporation, the engine manufacturer previously known as Raytheon, experienced a significant dip of 10.22% in its share price.

The company revealed that its powdered metal used in manufacturing certain jet engine parts for Airbus's A320neo might diminish the components' service life.

That triggered a significant sell-off, with RTX's shares plunging up to 15% at one point during the session - a potential record drop for the company since the 9/11 terror attacks.

General Motors' shares also experienced a decline, dropping by 3.51% despite beating analysts' estimates in the latest earnings report.

The carmaker's stock suffered primarily due to a hefty recall charge of $792m, overshadowing the otherwise positive earnings report.

On the upside, General Electric soared 6.27% on the back of an upbeat earnings report that surpassed expectations, along with the company's decision to raise its financial outlook.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Dow Jones - Risers

3M Co. (MMM) $109.83 5.33% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $53.50 1.77% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $350.98 1.70% Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.10 1.40% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $262.08 1.04% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $53.60 0.92% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $172.39 0.77% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $34.24 0.77% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $140.34 0.57% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $162.56 0.46%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $172.08 -1.56% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $354.70 -1.18% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $107.54 -1.16% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $85.63 -1.12% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $292.36 -1.00% Visa Inc. (V) $238.69 -0.85% Boeing Co. (BA) $214.12 -0.81% American Express Co. (AXP) $166.50 -0.77% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $156.89 -0.75% Nike Inc. (NKE) $108.29 -0.43%

S&P 500 - Risers

Packaging Corp. Amer (PKG) $152.65 10.08% Msci Inc. (MSCI) $548.20 9.04% General Electric Co. (GE) $117.16 6.27% PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $83.42 6.23% F5 Inc. (FFIV) $158.98 5.84% 3M Co. (MMM) $109.83 5.33% International Paper Co. (IP) $33.93 4.82% Westrock Company (WRK) $32.06 4.23% Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $43.69 3.78% Nucor Corp. (NUE) $172.91 3.74%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Fiserv Inc. (FI) $0.00 -100.00% Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) $87.10 -10.22% Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $48.18 -9.66% Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) $16.63 -7.46% Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $105.00 -6.82% Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $35.53 -4.49% Dover Corp. (DOV) $146.53 -3.67% Mettler Toledo International (MTD) $1,313.99 -3.60% US Bancorp (USB) $37.86 -3.57% Zions Bancorporation (ZION) $35.78 -3.43%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $456.79 2.39% Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $330.90 2.27% Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $90.84 2.22% CSX Corp. (CSX) $33.17 2.00% Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $227.40 1.92% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $917.99 1.82% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $650.24 1.75% Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $195.66 1.71% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $350.98 1.70% Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,942.43 1.68%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Fiserv Inc. (FI) $0.00 -100.00% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $5.13 -14.50% Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $18.80 -6.88% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $17.80 -6.86% Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.03 -6.42% PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $86.31 -2.69% Biogen Inc (BIIB) $270.31 -2.42% Hasbro Inc (HAS) $63.68 -2.03% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $58.22 -1.75% Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $332.14 -1.45%