Stock market today: Wall Street drifts in mixed trading as oil claws back some of its losses | National News

NEW YORK (`) — Wall Street had a quiet day of mixed trading Tuesday, with most stocks falling but a handful of influential companies keeping losses under control.

The S&P 500 slipped 7.04 points, or 0.1%, to 4,756.50, matching its best day in nearly two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 157.85, or 0.4%, to 37,525.16, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 13.94, or 0.1%, to 14,857.71.

Eversource Energy slumped 7.7%, posting one of the worst losses in the S&P 500, after the company said it expected a decline of up to $1.6 billion from its results by the end of 2023. The company is negotiating to sell its shares in three offshore wind projects. Due to several challenges, a lower value may need to be considered for them.

Unity Software fell 8% after the company said it would cut about a quarter of its workforce, or 1,800 jobs.

Boeing also fell again, but not as sharply as it did on Monday, its first day of trading, after one of its jets flying for Alaska Airlines suffered an accident while flying over Oregon. The stock lost 1.4% after falling 8% on Monday. Spirit AeroSystems, which makes fuselages and other parts for Boeing, fell 0.4%.

Elsewhere in the airline industry, JetBlue Airways fell 10.2% after its chief executive Robin Hayes said he would step down for health reasons. He will be replaced by current JetBlue President Joanna Geraghty, who will be the first woman to lead a major U.S. airline.

On Wall Street's winning side, Illumina rose 4.5% after the biotech company said it would report higher revenue for the end of 2023 than analysts had forecast. Urban Outfitters rose 7.7% after saying total sales at its stores, including Anthropologie, rose 10% in the final two months of the year from 2022 levels.

Nvidia, on the other hand, rose 1.7%, hitting an all-time high for the second day in a row. There is great excitement that its chips will continue to be in high demand thanks to the boom around artificial intelligence technology. And because it's one of Wall Street's biggest stocks, its moves on the S&P 500 and other indices carry more weight than almost any other company.

A 1.5% gain for Amazon, another Wall Street giant, also helped limit the S&P 500's losses, even as seven of 10 stocks in the index fell.

Financial markets had a slow start to the year after a rapid end to 2023. The S&P 500 posted nine straight weeks of gains to end the year, largely on growing hopes that the U.S. economy will remain resilient and the Federal Reserve will significantly cut interest rates through 2024.

Some mixed data recently has added to criticism that Wall Street may have become too optimistic about the number of rate cuts to come.

The Federal Reserve has already raised its key interest rate to its highest level since 2001, hoping to depress the economy and investment prices to control inflation. With inflation having fallen significantly since its peak, the Fed has indicated it may cut interest rates three times by 2024. This would boost investment prices and reduce pressure on the economy and financial system.

However, traders are still betting on a greater than 50% chance that there will be at least six rate cuts, or double the Fed forecast, according to data from CME Group. Critics say such a high number is unlikely unless the economy goes into recession.

Treasury yields have already fallen in anticipation of interest rate cuts and remained relatively stable on Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.02% from 4.01% late Monday.

In the oil market, crude oil prices recovered some of their sharp losses from the previous day as Saudi Arabia took steps that signaled a slowdown in demand. A barrel of U.S. crude rose $1.47 to $72.24. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $1.47 to $77.59.

This week's most important events for Wall Street are likely to occur towards the end of the week. On Thursday, the US government will release its latest monthly update on consumer inflation. Further progress there could show whether Wall Street's hopes for rate cuts are justified or fanciful.

Given strong expectations for deeper rate cuts than the Fed is proposing, “incoming inflation data will need to continue to surprise for the Fed to cut as early as March,” Deutsche Bank economists said.

On Friday, major companies in the S&P 500 will begin reporting their results for the final three months of 2023. The general expectation is that the companies in the index will report moderate year-over-year growth in earnings per share.

In overseas stock markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.2% to reach its highest close since 1990. Elsewhere, indexes posted more modest moves, with many falling slightly.

` business reporters Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed.