Stocks remain mostly lower but are well off of their worst levels in early afternoon trading on Tuesday, as the markets are digesting some upbeat auto sales figures from General Motors. Nonetheless, some selling persists following decreases in pending home sales and factory orders in addition to a batch of weak corporate results.
This afternoon, General Motors reported that July sales for its Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands soared by 25 percent in July. Ford (F) reported a 3.1 percent increase in sales and Hyundai an 18.8 percent jump.
Earlier, the National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index fell by 2.6 percent in June following a revised 29.9 percent decrease in May. The index had been expected to decrease by about 5.0 percent.
At the same time, the Commerce Department said that factory orders fell by 1.2 percent in June following a revised 1.8 percent decrease in the previous month. Economists had been expecting orders to decrease by 0.5 percent compared to the 1.4 percent drop originally reported for May.
Before the start of trading, the Commerce Department released a separate report showing that personal income and spending both came in nearly unchanged in June after showing modest increases in the previous month.
In earnings news, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) reported adjusted second quarter earnings of $0.62 per share versus $0.48 per share a year ago. On average, Wall Street analysts expected earnings of $0.52 per share for the quarter.
The drug giant reported revenues for the quarter of $17.3 billion, an increase of 58 percent compared to the same period last year. The figures also beat analyst expectations, which called for revenues of $16.65 billion for the quarter.
Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) and Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) reported earnings and revenues that fell short of estimates.
The major averages climbed near the unchanged line in late morning trading but have moved back to the downside since then. The Dow is down 32.55 points or 0.3 percent at 10,641.83, the Nasdaq is down 9.61 points or 0.4 percent at 2,285.73 and the S&P 500 is down 4.85 points or 0.4 percent at 1,121.01.
Sector News
Despite a partial rebound by some sectors, housing and airline stocks remain notably lower in early afternoon trading, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index and the NYSE Arca Airline Index posting losses of 3.5 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.
The slide among housing stocks has come after Radian Group (RDN) reported a second quarter loss versus a year-ago profit and Vulcan Materials (VMC) also posted a net loss for the second quarter.
Electronic storage, oil service, semiconductor and trucking stocks are also seeing continued weakness, while strength has emerged among health insurance stocks. The Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor Index is up by 2 percent, setting a six-week intraday high.
Gold stocks also remain higher, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 1.1 percent, as the price of gold is up by $3.90 at $1,189.30 an ounce.
Stocks In The News
While most stocks are currently in the red, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is seeing strength after its fourth quarter earnings came in at $0.69 per share, which is well above the $0.52 per share expected by analysts. The stock is up 1.3 percent after reaching a four month intraday high.
VeriSign (VRSN) is also notably higher after it reported second quarter income of $0.24 per share on revenues of $168.68 million, with the earnings in line with expectations. Shares are currently up by 4.9 percent, setting a six-week intraday.
Meanwhile, Kilroy Realty (KRC) is trading lower after its second quarter earnings from operations fell to $0.41 per share, which was short of the $0.52 per share projected by analysts. The stock is down by 1.3 percent, slipping from yesterday's two and a half month closing high.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region ended mostly higher on Tuesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 inched gained 1.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index inched up by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets closed on a mixed note. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index ended the day nearly flat, while the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index gained 0.3 percent.
In the bond markets, treasuries remain notably higher. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is trading at 2.912 percent, posting a loss of 5.1 basis points.
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