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Coming off the long Christmas weekend, U.S. stocks on Tuesday were mixed. Megacap technology stocks retreated, while Tesla (TSLA) fell on a report of reduced production at its China plant. The Asian nation was also in focus after it further eased its COVID-19 policies.
By mid-day, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP.IND) was down 0.90% to 10,403.29 points, with Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) falling more than 1% each.
The benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) was 0.12% lower to 3,840.19 points, while the blue-chip Dow (DJI) was higher by 0.42% to 33,344.16 points.
Of the 11 S&P sectors, seven were trading in the green, led by Energy and Industrials. Technology fell the most among the losers.
With many market participants on vacation for the holiday-shortened week, trading volume is expected to be thin. The benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) retreated for a third straight week on Friday, with hopes for a year-end “Santa Claus” rally having largely diminished.
Turning to the bond markets, rates advanced. The 10-year Treasury yield (US10Y) rose 10 basis points to 3.84% and the 2-year yield (US2Y) rose 8 basis points to 4.41%.
Traders parsed a host of economic data on Tuesday, including retail inventories which were up +0.1% in November to $738.7B and wholesale inventories which came in at +1.0% M/M to $933.6B versus the +0.4% consensus.
Additionally, trade in goods narrowed more than expected in November to -$83.53B compared to the forecasted -$97.0B.
The S&P Case-Shiller home price index for October came in at +8.6% Y/Y, higher than the expected 8.2% consensus.
Furthermore, the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey for November came in at -18.8 versus the prior reading of -19.4.
Among active movers, U.S.-listed Chinese tech firms gained after the country eased up on restrictions for international travelers and continued to strip away the majority of its tough zero-COVID policies.
Tesla fell after Reuters reported that the company was set to maintain a reduced production schedule at its Shanghai plant. The electric vehicle maker was the top percentage loser on the S&P 500.
