15/7/14

Stocks mixed, with Nasdaq hit by valuation worry

U.S. stocks fluctuated on Tuesday, with investors measuring upbeat earnings from the banking sector against concern from the Federal Reserve that valuations on small-cap and high-flying names might be "stretched." 

 

JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs Group climbed after posting better-than-expected quarterly results. Facebook and Yahoo fell after the Fed, in its monetary report, called valuations stretched for smaller social media and biotechnology stocks. Lorillard declined after Reynolds American said it would purchase its rival cigarette maker for about $25 billion.

Read MoreFed slaps stocks with unusually targeted comments on valuation froth
We have "echoes of irrational exuberance, but in an entirely different context," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities, referring to Yellen's comments about biotech and social media stocks, and relating them to a phrase used by then-Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan in the 1990s during the dot-com bubble. 

Read MoreBiotech, social stocks weak after Yellen warning
In semi-annual testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Fed chair Janet Yellen said the central bank's monetary stimulus was still necessary, given "significant slack" in the labor market and that inflation remained under the Fed's target. 

Read MoreYellen: No 'magical formula' for rate inceases

 
Symbol
Name
Price
 
Change
%Change
DJIA Dow Jones Industrial Average 17061.07
 
5.65 0.03%
S&P 500 S&P 500 Index 1973.34
 
-3.76 -0.19%
NASDAQ Nasdaq Composite Index 4416.39
 
-24.03 -0.54%
 
After jumping 64 points to another intraday record, the Dow Jones Industrial Average wavered between gains and losses, ending up 0.1 percent.
JPMorgan profit declines as fixed-income trading slides
Consumer staples and health care led declines and telecommunications and financials fared best among the 10 major sectors on the S&P 500 falling 0.2 percent.
The Nasdaq declined 0.5 percent.
For every share rising, nearly two fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where 426 million shares exchanged hands as of 3:05 p.m. Eastern. Composite volume cleared 2.4 billion.
"The significant pullback in energy prices which has gradually shown up at the pump is going to be a tailwind for the consumer and the economy," said Hogan.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil futures fell below $100 a barrel for the first time since the middle of May, losing 95 cents to settle at $99.96 a barrel. Gold futures erased initial gains, dropping $9.60, or 0.7 percent, to finish at $1,297.10 an ounce.
Read MoreThe reason Yellen's comments sent gold lower
The dollar edged higher against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners; the 10-year Treasury yield used to figure mortgage rates and other consumer loans fell a basis point to 2.542 percent.
<p>Yellen: Economy improving, recovery not complete</p> <p>Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies in front of the Senate Banking Committee about the health of the U.S. economy and the rebound of growth in the second quarter.</p>
Economic reports had a measure of consumer spending rising in June, with core sales - which exclude cars, energy and food costs -- up 0.6 percent after an upwardly revised 0.2 percent in May.
Read MoreDetails of June retail report suggest economy on solid footing
"So far the news has been pretty good," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital, citing earnings from the banking sector, along with data on June retail sales.
"The overall economic picture continues to brighten, with consumer spending up, albeit at a modest pace," said Cardillo.
Other data Tuesday had factory activity in the New York region expanding sharply in July; U.S. import prices rising less than expected in June; and another report showed U.S. business inventories rising in May.
On Monday, stocks climbed, lifting the Dow industrials back above 17,000, as investors welcomed better-than-projected earnings from Citigroup and a round of M&A.
Read MoreStocks end higher on M&A; Dow sets intraday record
Yahoo and Intel report after Tuesday's close.
Trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
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Trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
—By CNBC's Kate Gibson

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