Stock market today

A pause in all-time highs for the US stock market today, as all major stock indexes closed lower. The closing numbers for the US stock market follow:

S&P 500: 4,685.25,-16.45(-0.35%)
Dow 30: 36,319.98,-112.24(-0.31%)
Nasdaq: 15,886.54,-95.81(-0.60%)
Russell 2000: 2,427.29,-15.45(-0.63%

Stock market news

“Stocks fell Tuesday, with investors taking a breather after yet another record-setting session on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 pulled back to end an 8-session winning streak. A day earlier, the index closed above 4,700 for the first time. And although the Dow and Nasdaq gave back gains as well, the indexes were still perched within view of recent record highs. Shares of Tesla (TSLA) closed lower by 12% in their biggest drop since September 2020, with the stock seeing another day of marked selling after CEO Elon Musk hinted that he may sell some of his stake.

Equity investors over the past week rode an extended wave of optimism over solid quarterly corporate earnings and economic reports, which came alongside recent positive data for a new COVID-19 antiviral pill from Pfizer (PFE) and the passage of a more than $1 trillion infrastructure bill in Congress. With about 89% of S&P 500 companies having posted quarterly results, the projected earnings growth rate for the index in aggregate stands at nearly 40%, according to FactSet. And this growth rate has continued to creep higher over the past several weeks as more companies topped expectations.

“I still think it’s all about corporate profits. I know a lot of my peers are concerned that peak earnings growth is behind us,” Marci McGregor, Bank of America Merrill Lynch senior investment strategist, told Yahoo Finance Live. “But I think peak earnings isn’t even a 2022 story. We’re seeing solid consumer demand, a strong U.S. economy, and I think we’re going to have a capex cycle in 2022. And I think that’s all positive for corporate profits, and that underpins this market, in my view.”

Earnings results after market close on Monday came in mixed. Roblox (RBLX) shares surged after posting third-quarter bookings that exceeded Wall Street’s estimates, with the gaming platform growing further even after an initial stay-at-home-related boost in usage. PayPal (PYPL) shares turned lower, however, as investors homed in on the payments company’s disappointing full-year outlook. This overshadowed its announcement of a new pact with Amazon (AMZN) to accept Venmo for payments next year. AMC Entertainment (AMC) also fell despite topping quarterly sales estimates, with the meme stock giving back some gains after a 2,000% run-up so far for the year-to-date.”

Stock market data: Yahoo Finance