US stock indexes barely budged after a quiet day of mixed trading on Tuesday, though General Motors had its best day in years.
- The S&P 500 fell 2.78 points, or less than 0.1%, to 5,851.20, marking its first back-to-back loss in a month and a half.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended essentially flat. It fell 6.71 points, or less than 0.1%, to 43,924.89. Like the S&P 500, it's been on a long, record-breaking rally and set its latest all-time high on Friday.
- The Nasdaq composite rose 33.12 points, or 0.2%, to 18,573.13%, lifted by gains in several Big Tech stocks including Microsoft.
General Motors jumped 10.4% for its best day since 2020 after delivering stronger profit and revenue than expected. It benefited from stronger sales to individual US customers, even as sales slowed to large fleet buyers, the AP reports. Philip Morris International was another one of the strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500 and rallied 10.5% after topping forecasts for both profit and revenue. CEO Jacek Olczak said the company is seeing momentum across regions and business lines, including growth for both its smoke-free business and for its combustible cigarettes. Norfolk Southern climbed 4.9% after the railroad topped analysts' forecasts for profit.
Keeping indexes in check was GE Aerospace, which tumbled 9% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. The company, which began trading independently this spring after splitting off from the former conglomerate General Electric, reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but its revenue fell short of forecasts. Verizon Communications sank 5% after likewise reporting weaker revenue for the latest quarter than expected, even though its profit edged past forecasts.
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Genuine Parts, which sells automotive and industrial replacement parts, dropped 21% for the largest loss in the S&P 500 after its profit for the latest quarter fell well short of expectations. CEO Will Stengel said much of the shortfall was due to continued weakness in Europe and its industrial business. Sherwin-Williams sank 5.3% after both its profit and revenue came in weaker than analysts expected. CEO Heidi Petz cited a "tough macroeconomic environment" and "continued choppiness in the demand environment" for its paints and coatings. Demand from do-it-yourself customers in North America remains weak given the higher debt levels that they're carrying and still-lingering inflation. (More stock market stories.)
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