NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks saw a mixed start Tuesday as investors parsed through earnings reports, with two major US banks beating expectations with their results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.5 percent to 42,859.57, while the broad-based S&P 500 Index was flat at 5,862.13.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2 percent to 18,534.74.
The shifts came as Goldman Sachs saw a jump in profits – up almost 50 percent – on higher fees for debt underwriting and asset management, alongside solid results in some businesses.
S&P 500, Dow rise on boost from big bank earnings
Goldman shares were up 1.3 percent in early trading.
Bank of America, which also reported better-than-expected earnings Tuesday, saw its share price climb 1.5 percent.
“The market is just pausing on the news,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments.
“We had a big rally over the last several weeks coming into earnings season. Now we’re seeing earnings confirm what the market already knew,” he added.
The market can now “breathe a sigh of relief” given that major banks are trading mostly higher after their financial reports, Sarhan noted.
Boeing shares were flat after it announced measures to replenish its cash flow, including its intent to raise up to $25 billion as it grapples with production issues and a major US strike.
Markets will also be keeping an eye on Federal Reserve official speeches during the day, and will be monitoring economic indicators later in the week for a sense of how US consumer spending is doing.
American Dollar Exchange Rate