U.S. market indexes gained on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve Board began its April meeting. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17,990.32 for a gain of 13.08 points or 0.07%. The Standard & Poor's 500 was also higher, closing at 2,091.70 for the day with a gain of 3.91 points or 0.19%. Expectations of no change in the federal funds rate by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday appeared to help stabilize volatility and improve returns.
Large-cap stocks in the Dow 30 continued to take the spotlight with earnings reports from 3M (MMM, Financial), Procter & Gamble (PG, Financial) and DuPont (DD, Financial). DuPont reported a stock price gain of 2.4% as the company reported earnings and continued to move toward a merger with Dow Chemical (DOW, Financial). Procter & Gamble reported a loss of 2.28% for the day, and 3M ended the day 1.31% lower. Most of the U.S. market sectors gained for the day led by the energy sector with a gain of 1.60% following higher oil prices. Apple (AAPL, Financial) also reported earnings on Tuesday after a one-day delay, and the technology sector was lower across the board with a loss of -0.48%.
The Nasdaq Composite closed lower for the day at 4,888.31, down 0.15%. Earnings from Apple and lower anticipated earnings for the technology sector overall were the primary drivers for the technology sector’s lower valuations. Apple reported its second quarter earnings, with revenue and earnings per share falling below analysts’ estimates. Revenue was $50.6 billion, missing estimates by $1.37 billion and reporting a comparable quarter growth rate of -12.8%. Earnings per share of $1.90 missed estimates by 10 cents.
The firm’s lower results weighed on markets as the large-cap technology company’s lower sales could be an indication of broader market challenges. For the quarter, iPhone revenue was down 18% from the comparable quarter, iPad revenue fell 19% and Mac revenue was 9% lower.
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 followed the day’s trend higher closing at 1,150.73 for a gain of 12.63 points or 1.11%. Energy stocks in the Russell 2000 saw broad gains for the day as oil prices were higher and volatility stabilized due primarily to evident expectations from the Federal Reserve on interest rates.
In a CNBC interview, market specialists discussed the day’s activity and specifically Apple’s earnings and the Federal Reserve meeting.
Disclosure: I do not own any shares of any stocks included in this article.
