Wall Street closed mixed on Tuesday after a choppy session to start the second half of 2025. Sector churns continued as market participants shifted their preference from growth-oriented technology stocks to more cyclical stocks.
Economic data were also mixed. Investors also weighed the latest developments related to President Donald Trump’s mega tax and spending bill. The Dow ended in positive territory while both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished in negative zone.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) advanced 0.9% or 400.17 points to close at 44,494.94. At intraday high, the blue-chip index was up more than 509 points and at intraday low, it was down more than 81 points. Notably, 23 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory and 7 finished in negative zone. The index is 1.3% away from its all-time high recorded on Dec 4, 2024.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 20,202.89, tumbling 0.8% due to weak performance of technology bigwigs. Major loser of the tech-laden index was Strategy Inc. MSTR. Shares of this leading worldwide provider of business intelligence software tanked 7.7%. The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here .
The S&P 500 was down 0.1% to finish at 6,198.01. Nine out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory while two in negative zone. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP), the Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) rose 1.3%, 2.6% and 1.4%, respectively. On the other hand, the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) fell 0.9%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 0.1% to 16.83.
Trump’s Giant Tax and Spending Bill
On July 1, U.S. Senate finally cleared President Trump’s megabill after prolonged negotiations and a series of amendments by a narrow margin. The bill managed to pass through the Senate with a majority of 51-50. Several Republican Senators voted against the bill defying the party line. The final tie-breaking vote was casted by the Vice President JD Vance.
The bill is now heading for the House of Representatives. Last week President Trump pressured the lawmakers to clear the bill to his table by July 4. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected that the bill will add more than $3 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. The U.S. government is currently facing a massive $36.2 trillion of fiscal deficit. On May 16, Moody’s Investor Services downgraded the U.S. sovereign credit rating by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa.
Economic Data
In its latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) report, the Department of Labor stated that the number of job opening’s rose 374,000 to 7.769 million by the last day of May. Total number of hires were little changed in May at 5.5 million. Similarly, total separations (including quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations) were also little changed in May at 5.2 million.
The Institute of Supply Management reported that its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PIMI) for the month of June came in at 49%, marginally higher than the consensus estimate of 48.8%. The reading for May was 48.5%. Notably, any reading below 50% indicates contraction in manufacturing activities.
June marked the fourth consecutive months of contraction of manufacturing activities. The new orders index came in at 46.4% in June compared with 47.6% in May. The employment index stood at 45% in June compared with 46.8% in May.
The construction spending in May decreased by 0.3%, wider-than-the consensus estimate of a decrease of 0.1%. The metric for April was revised upward to a decline of 0.2% from a fall of 0.4% reported earlier.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research