Stocks tread water ahead of tech earnings

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U.S. stocks were mixed after durable goods orders came in below expectations and investors awaited earnings reports from major tech companies..

The S&P 500 was little changed, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2%.

Stocks have come under pressure in recent days with a series of data showing contraction in the manufacturing and services sectors. Federal Reserve officials have indicated that they will continue to raise interest rates to fight inflation. The central bank’s annual economic policy symposium begins in Jackson Hole on Thursday, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak on Friday.

Giorgio Caputo, senior portfolio manager at Joe Hambro Capital Management, said of the market’s summer rally and subsequent slowdown. “Now in some ways, it’s back to school for all of us.”

He added, “We still have the same problems to deal with: labor shortages, energy shortages and other commodity shortages, and the headwinds of the congestion cycle.”

A data release showed durable-goods orders were flat in July, coming in below economists’ forecasts. Tech giants Salesforce and Nvidia are scheduled to report earnings after the market closes.

“Growth is decelerating everywhere. We had a big sign of weakening economic conditions,” said Fahad Kamal, chief investment officer at Kleinwert Hambros. But I think we’ll see Powell stick to his hawkish tone. He should have a tough talk on inflation.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.070% from 3.070% on Tuesday, extending a three-day rally. The yield curve continues to invert, flashing signs of recession, with a two-year yield of 3.342%.

Oil prices rose for a second day after Saudi Arabia and some of its OPEC+ allies suggested cutting output, citing high volatility. International crude benchmark Brent was up 0.6 percent at $100.82.

Traders traded on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.


Photo:

Courtney Crow / Zuma Press

Intuit jumped 7 percent after the tax preparation software company reported better-than-expected earnings, authorized a stock buyback and raised its dividend.

Nordstrom fell 15% after the clothing retailer lowered its financial goals for the year, citing risks from a sharp recession and a slowdown in consumer spending.

Overseas, the pan-continental STOXX Europe 600 hovered around a flat line. In Asia, major gauges fell, with the Shanghai Composite Index down 1.9 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 1.2 percent.

Shares of Chinese real estate developer Logan Group fell more than 50% after trading on Wednesday.

“There’s a lot of pessimism about the housing market in China, and the mortgage defaults look pretty ugly,” said Olivier Marchiot, chief investment officer at Univision. The investment community is looking for signs that things are stabilizing on that front in China, which we haven’t been getting at the moment.

– Justin Beyer contributed to this article

Write to Anna Hirtenstein at anna.hirtenstein@wsj.com

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