Dow Jones and S&P500: US Stocks Mixed Today as Tech Weakness Pressures Indices

Dow Climbs While Tech Weighs on S&P 500 and Nasdaq

The major U.S. stock indexes are putting in a mixed performance shortly after the opening on Tuesday. The Dow is moving higher, but profit-taking in the technology sector ahead of key earnings reports this week drove the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lower.

At 16:00 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.12%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are off by 0.36% and 0.87%, respectively.

Seven Sectors Rise — But Tech’s Drop Steals the Show

Seven of 11 key sectors are positive. But even a 2.96% gain in Materials and a 1.78% jump in Energy couldn’t offset Technology’s 2.37% drop.

The Material sector is being supported by a strong rebound in gold and silver. A small recovery in crude oil is giving the Energy sector a boost. The Technology sector is being pressured by Nvidia and Microsoft, which are down over 2%, adding to their annual losses. Software shares continue to weaken with companies like ServiceNow and Salesforce down 7% and 5% respectively.

Merck and Pepsi Lift the Dow — Palantir Jumps on Guidance

In other company related news, Merck is up more than 3% after releasing strong earnings. This lifted the Dow by 3.5%. Pepsi also reported strong earnings for a 4% gain. Palantir posted early gains of 6% on upbeat guidance.

Alphabet and Amazon Earnings Loom Large After Microsoft Selloff

Looking ahead, traders are awaiting earnings from Alphabet and Amazon. The anticipation is making investors nervous after last week’s steep Microsoft sell-off.

Although the indexes are hovering near record highs, the rally looks tentative. On one hand, we have the Fed potentially delivering two rate cuts, a strong economy, and solid corporate profits. However, concerns over AI returns are slowing upside momentum. With more earnings reports this week, traders will not only be watching past performance, but their primary concern will be on how AI is performing. Last week, Microsoft dropped after it disappointed investors with its AI guidance.

S&P 500 Futures Struggle Below Record High

March E-mini S&P 500 Index futures are under pressure after falling short of last week’s record high at 7043.00. What we’ve been seeing lately is a market that has been relying on the upside momentum after recovering from a sharp sell-off. However, follow-through buying has been hard to come by.

I’d like to see a sustained breakout over the record high at 7043.00 and a clean recovery of the uptrend line at 7085.75. This would put the index in a bullish position.

On the downside, support is the 50-day moving average at 6920.78. Since late November, we’ve seen three major dips below this indicator and quick recoveries. If you go back to late October on the daily chart, you’ll see a steady climb to new highs, but the last four major tops have come after a sharp break. The gains from high-to-high have been limited.

We’re going to need to see a sustained breakout to the upside, or the market is facing the possibility of a steep plunge.

More Information in our Economic Calendar.