By Abigail Summerville
(Reuters) -Wall Street’s main indexes struggled for direction on Tuesday as investors digested a host of corporate earnings and awaited Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s results later in the day.
Alphabet, one of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” megacap technology stocks, gained 1.8% ahead of its results due after the market close.
This week marks the busiest period for S&P 500 earnings, with eyes on five of the “Magnificent Seven” companies that are reporting quarterly results.
The group’s results will be crucial to determining whether Wall Street can sustain the optimism around technology and artificial intelligence that has lifted indexes to record highs this year.
“I think one of the things the market is digesting is the idea of some degree of convergence in earnings growth between the high fliers – the Magnificent Seven that are obviously very high in terms of market weighting – versus the rest of the market,” said Bill Merz, head of Capital Markets Research for U.S. Bank’s asset management group.
Other megacaps were mixed, with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) up 0.6%, while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose 0.2% and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) lost 1.4%.
Investors sifted through a deluge of corporate earnings. Vans parent VF Corp (NYSE:VFC) jumped 22.2% after the apparel company reported its first profit in two quarters.
D.R. Horton dropped 8.5% on Tuesday after the homebuilder forecast 2025 revenue below estimates. Other homebuilders lost ground, with the PHLX Housing index dropping over 3% and on track for its worst day since April.
Ford (NYSE:F) slumped more than 8% a day after the automaker said it expected to hit the lower end of its annual profit forecast. Restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) slipped ahead of its earnings later on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department’s JOLTS survey showed job openings were at 7.44 million in September, compared with estimates of 8 million, a Reuters poll of economists showed.
A separate report showed consumer confidence at 108.7 in October, above the estimated 99.5.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 77.30 points, or 0.18%, to 42,310.27. The S&P 500 gained 13.60 points, or 0.23%, at 5,837.12 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 133.90 points, or 0.72%, to 18,701.09.
Among sectors, communication services, which includes Alphabet and Meta (NASDAQ:META), was the top gainer, while utilities slumped 1.8%.
Gains were limited as the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield touched 4.3% for the first time since early July.
“As bond yields go up and bond prices go down, other assets that historically have bond-like characteristics like utilities could be under slightly more pressure,” Merz said.
Investors are anticipating a volatile few weeks with upcoming corporate earnings, Middle East tensions, and the Nov. 5 U.S. elections followed by the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.25-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.37-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 17 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 75 new highs and 57 new lows.