U.S. stock markets closed lower on Tuesday as market participants booked profits before the release of a key inflation data Wednesday. Investors also digested a mixed set of earnings results. Economic data were also mixed. All three major stock indexes ended in negative territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) tumbled 0.4% or 154.10 points after a choppy session to close at 44,247.83. Notably, 19 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory while 11 in positive zone.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 19,687.24, sliding 0.3% due to weak performance by technology behemoths. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to finish at 6,034.91. Eight out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in negative territory while three in positive zone.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) and the Materials Select Sector (XLB) tumbled 1.4%, 1.6% and 1%, respectively. On the other hand, the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) rose 1.8%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.1%% to 14.18. A total of 13.35 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 14.35 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.88-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.61-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.
Oracle Corp. ORCL reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 non-GAAP earnings of $1.47 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.68% and increased 9.7% year over year in terms of both USD and constant currency (cc).
Quarterly revenues rose 9% year over year to $14.1 billion, driven by continued momentum from its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure business, including from winning cloud-computing contracts from AI-focused startups. However, the figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.46%.
G-III Apparel Group Ltd. GIII came out with quarterly earnings of $2.59 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.26 per share. This compares to earnings of $2.78 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. The company posted revenues of $1.09 billion for the quarter ended October 2024, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.24%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $1.07 billion.
United Natural Foods Inc. UNFI came out with quarterly earnings of $0.16 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.01 per share. This compares to loss of $0.04 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. The company posted quarterly revenues of $7.87 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.30%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $7.55 billion.
Consequently, the stock price of Oracle plummeted 6.7%, while stock prices of G-III Apparel and Unified Natural Foods climbed 10.4% and 20%, respectively. All three stocks currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) small business optimization index came in at 101.7 for November. For the first time after 34 months (since June 2021), the reading came in above the 50-year average of 98. Of the 10 Optimism Index components, nine increased and one remained unchanged.
In November, the net percent of owners expecting the economy to improve rose to a net 36% — the highest since June 2020. This component had the greatest impact on the overall increase in the Optimism Index. 14% of small business owners said it’s a good time to expand business — the highest since June 2021.
The Department of Labor reported that the nonfarm productivity in third-quarter 2024 came in at 2.2%, in line with both the consensus estimate and previous estimate. Unit labor costs increased by 0.8% in third-quarter 2024, lower than the consensus estimate of 1.4%. The previous estimate was 1.9%.
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