W all Street closed Tuesday almost exactly where it began after a mixed set of profit reports led to a quiet, meandering day of trading. The S&P 500 edged up by 3.55 points, or 0.1%, to 4,154.87 after drifting between small gains and losses throughout the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 10.55, or less than 0.1%, to 33,976.63, and the Nasdaq composite was down 4.31, or less than 0.1%, at 12,153.41. Lockheed Martin was one of Wall Street’s bigger gainers, the AP reports. It climbed 2.4% after reporting a profit for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ expectations.
Bank of America rose 0.6% after its better-than-expected profit report. The majority of companies have been beating forecasts so far in the early days of this reporting season. The bar, though, was broadly low amid Wall Street’s worries about still-high inflation, much higher interest rates, and slowing in some sections of the economy. Analysts came into this reporting season forecasting the sharpest drop in earnings per share for S&P 500 companies since the pandemic torpedoed the economy in 2020.
Several companies stumbled after failing to meet expectations. Goldman Sachs fell 1.7% after its revenue fell short of analysts’ forecasts, though earnings topped expectations. Health care stocks were broadly weak and the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 out of the 11 sectors that make up the index. Johnson & Johnson fell 2.8% despite reporting stronger profit than expected and raising its dividend. Coming up later this week will be reports from several dozen more companies in the S&P 500. They include big names such as AT&T, Tesla, and Procter & Gamble.
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