Stocks finished slightly lower Tuesday as investors shifted focus from domestic political risks to corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 57 points, or 0.14%, to finish the session at 40,358.09, while the S&P 500 lost 0.16% to 5,555.74 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gave up 0.06% to end the day at 17,997.35.
Tesla, which laid off more than 10% of its global workforce, reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the second quarter as automotive sales dropped for a second straight period, CNBC reported.
The electric vehicle maker said revenue increased 2% from $24.93 billion a year earlier to $25.05 billion, but automotive sales dropped 7% to $19.9 billion from $21.27 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
Tesla posted adjusted earnings of 52 cents per share, short of the expected 60 cents per share.
Updated at 12:30 PM EDT by Liam Elias
Wednesday earnings slate
Wall Street's earnings parade will continue tomorrow with a host of bluechip updates amid a week in which nearly a third of the S&P 500 will publish June quarter profits.
AT&T (T) will kick things off before the opening bell, with the Street looking for a headline revenue tally of $29.92 billion and earnings of around 57 cents per share.
Investors are also expecting an update on the impact of a massive breach data breach in April that lead to the illegal downloading of around 109 million accounts.
AT&T shares, which have fallen 2.8% so far this month, compared to a 2.2% gain for the S&P 500, were last marked 0.16% lower at $18.52 each.
IBM (IBM) , meanwhile, will report after the closing bell tomorrow, with analysts expecting the group to post a bottom line of $2.19 per share on revenues of $15.62 billion.
The cloud-focused tech group, which has beaten earnings estimates for the past four quarters and is up 13% for the year, will look to continue that streak on the back of expanding AI demand.
IBM shares were last marked 0.04% lower at $184.03 each.
ServiceNow (NOW) the IT services group, is also trading higher ahead of its June quarter update, with analysts looking for earnings of $2.84 per share, and revenues of $2.61 billion.
The stock, which is up 12% for the year, is rated as a ‘buy’ by 30 of 34 Wall Street analysts, based on Yahoo Finance data, with an average analyst has a price target of $854 per share that suggests 11% upside from current levels.
Boston Scientific (BSX) extended gains in early trading to take its year-to-date advance to around 37%, powered in part by ongoing demand for its pacemakers and stents.
The medical devices group, which has topped Street estimates for four quarters, is expected to see earnings more than triple from last year to 58 cents per share, with revenues rising 17% to $4.02 billion.
Waste Management (WM) shares were last marked 1.4% lower on the session, but remain firmly in positive territory for the year, ahead of the group’s second quarter earnings update after the close of trading.
Analysts are looking for a bottom line of $1.83 per share on revenues of $5.43 billion, as well as updates on the impact of its $7.2 billion take-private deal for medical waste group Stericycle, which is unveiled last month. Reports also suggest it’s exploring the sale of its $3 billion natural gas business.
Earnings Tues-Fri📊
— FortunaTrading (@fortunatrading1) July 23, 2024
• Tuesday: $GOOG, $TSLA, $SPOT, $V, $CMCSA, $TXN, $GM, $KO.
• Wednesday: $CMG, $IBM, $NOW, $T.
• Thursday: $AAL, $ABBV, $APPF, $AZN, $LUV. pic.twitter.com/7mgdjopbRx
Updated at 11:08 AM EDT
Google up next
Alphabet shares are edging higher in early trading ahead of the Google parent's second quarter earnings set for after the close of trading.
Alphabet is expected to post second-quarter earnings of $1.84 per share, a 27.7% improvement from the same period last year, with revenues rising around 13% to $84.21 billion.
Google shares were last marked 0.3% higher at $183.86 each, extending their six-month gain to around 24%.
Related: Alphabet earnings up next with Google parent's AI costs in focus
Updated at 9:38 AM EDT
Mixed open
The S&P 500 was marked 2 points lower, or 0.02%, in the opening minutes of trading, with the Nasdaq up 5 points, or 0.03% The Dow, meanwhile, slipped 44 points.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Jul. 23, 2024)$SPY -0.09%🟥$QQQ +0.28% 🟥$DJI +0.14%🟥$IWM -0.51%🟥 pic.twitter.com/h9NvcDD9V3
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) July 23, 2024
Updated at 8:51 AM EDT
Tesla on deck
Tesla shares extended their extraordinary July gains in premarket trading as investors brace for the EV maker's second quarter earnings after the closing bell.
Tesla is expected to post a bottom line of 62 cents per share with group revenues falling around 0.65% from last year to $24.77 billion.
Related: Tesla earnings on deck with margins, robotaxi unveiling in focus
Updated at 7:39 AM EDT
GM Cruising
General Motors (GM) shares powered higher in premarket trading after the carmaker posted stronger-than-expected second quarter earnings and boosted its full-year profit forecast and the back of resilient truck demand.
GM said it now sees full-year profits in the region of $13 billion to $15 billion, a $500 million improvement from its prior forecast, as demand for gas-powered cars continues to well outpace advances in EV sales.
GM shares were last marked 4.52% higher in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $51.80 each, a move that would extend the stock's year-to-date gain past 40%.
Stock Market Today
Stocks closed higher across the board last night, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average snapping a two-session losing streak, as investors unwound some of last week's 'Trump trade' by bidding up megacap tech stocks and buying U.S. Treasury bonds.
The emergence of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic frontrunner, seen as a more formidable challenge to former President Donald Trump, allowed for some of that reversal on Monday, as did a muted reaction from the market's benchmark volatility gauge, the CBOE Group's VIX index.
Related: Stock sentiment resets after tech pullback
Harris, who has likely gathered enough support from senior delegates to secure the Democratic Party's official nomination, will appear at her first campaign rally later today in Wisconsin.
“Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our party’s nominee, and as a daughter of California, I am proud that my home state’s delegation helped put our campaign over the top,” Harris said in a statement.
Spencer Platt/Getty
Attention now is likely to shift to the busy morning slate of corporate earnings, which includes updates from United Parcel Service (UPS) , General Motors (GM) , Coca Cola (KO) and Comcast (CMCSA) .
Magnificent 7 tech giants Google (GOOGL) and Tesla (TSLA) will report after the bell.
Around 134 S&P 500 companies will report second quarter earnings this week, with analyst looking for collective profits for the benchmark to rise 11.1% from last year to $496.7 billion.
In the bond market, Treasury yields were steady ahead of a $69 billion auction of 2-year notes later in the session, with benchmark 2-year paper trading at 4.504% and 10-year notes pegged at 4.226%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.03% higher at 104.342.
On Wall Street, futures tied to the S&P 500, which is up 1.9% for the month, suggest a modest 15 point opening bell gain for the benchmark, with the Dow called 57 points higher at the start of trading.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is priced for a 10 point decline thanks in part to modest premarket declines for Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL) .
Related: Analyst puts Nvidia stock on watch; report points to new China chip
UPS shares tumbled 8.05% in premarket after the package delivery group posted weaker-than-expected second quarter earnings of $1.79 per share amid weakening demand and higher staffing costs.
General Electric (GE) shares jumped 2.4% after a mixed set of second quarter earnings supported by solid aerospace orders and a boost to its full-year profit and cashflow forecasts.
More Wall Street Analysts:
- Analyst revisits Nvidia stock price target after Blackwell checks
- Analysts prescribe new Walgreens stock price targets after earnings
- Analyst revises Facebook parent stock price target in AI arms race
In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 was marked 0.35% higher in Frankfurt, with Britain's FTSE 100 rising 0.28% in London, on a busy day for bank earnings in the region.
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 was little-changed on the session, falling 0.012% into the close, while the region-wide MSCI ex-Japan benchmark gained 0.34%.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
