Another wave of solid earnings reports on Tuesday pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its twelfth record closing high of the year.
The blue-chip index gained 218 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 was flat. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.2%.
A majority of S&P 500 stocks actually closed higher, but struggles among large stocks including Alphabet and a number of energy firms viewed as artificial intelligence plays were a drag on the index.
Among the Dow’s top stocks were earnings winners such as 3M and Coca-Cola. The index also lacks Alphabet.
“Today’s market action reflects a clear reversion into laggards,” writes Mizuho’s Daniel O’Regan. “Some of today’s best performing themes have had horrible [year-to-date] returns.”
Netflix and Texas Instruments will keep earnings season rolling after the close. Tesla also reports on Wednesday. Five of the other so-called Magnificent Seven stocks report next week, though those most interested in AI chip titan Nvidia’s results will have to wait until November.
“The next big thing for me is the tech related earnings,” Sevens Report Research’s Tom Essaye tells Barron’s. “And making sure those companies, especially the big ones, have a foot on the gas on AI capex spending. Because that’s probably the most important thing for the economy and the markets at this point.”