Stock Market Today: Stocks Fade From Higher Open originally appeared on TheStreet.
Updated: 10:41 a.m. EDT
Stocks continued to struggle after a bearish report on the economy.
The pullback was surprising, given Monday’s huge rally. But a look into the sectors of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index offer clues.
Only four of the 11 indexes is higher on Tuesday with Consumer Discretionary stock the top sector.
This group includes Carmax (KMX) , Amazon.com (AMZN) , and then a host of housing-related stocks, including D.R. Horton (DHI) , PulteGroup (PHM) , Lowe’s Companies (LOW) , Lennar (LEN) and Home Depot (HD) .
The catalyst moving them: a decline in the 10-year Treasury yield to 4.193, down slightly from Monday and down from 4.61% in May.
Technology, Utilities and Energy are the weak links. Energy reflects crude oil, down 73 cents to $65.55 a barrel..
At 11:45 a.m. EDT, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 0.6% at 6,293. The Nasdaq Composite Index was off 0.7%, to 20903. And the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.3% to 44,039.
The market turned south after a weaker-than-expected ISM Service PMI report.
Updated: 10:41 a.m. EDT
U.S. stocks opened higher for a second day but quickly lost ground, even as Palantir (PLTR) was the day’s star.
The big-data-analytics company’s earnings blew past just about all Wall Street estimates and the Denver group guided even higher.
The shares hit a 52-week high of $176.33 and at last check were 8.4% higher at $174.15.
Also among the day’s hot stocks: Axon Enterprise (AXON) , the prominent producer of the taser. It was up 18% to $879.25.
At 10:38 a.m. EDT, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 0.35% at 6308. The Nasdaq Composite Index was off 0.29%, to 20993. And the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.42% to 43990.
Two reasons for the pullback:
I began my career not in journalism but on the New York Stock Exchange. Technically, I wasn’t on the floor, but I worked 16 stories above it, trading through a network of brokers who were on the floor.
I was there in trading activity, if not in body.
It probably shows in my writing. Back in those days some 1,300 traders plus support staff made up the crowds where stocks were traded and prices were discovered.
It was a loud and active place, where price efficiency ruled.
Today, the NYSE floor is an empty place. Market makers still work there, but price discovery happens largely through computers.
This is what the floor looks like today:
In today’s Market Recon piece over on TheStreet Pro, Stephen “Sarge” Guilfoyle discusses the trading action from Friday and Monday, and tells us that both Friday and Monday were overshoots from where the market should have traded.
He says:
“On Monday, U.S. equity markets absolutely roared back from a harsh selloff on Friday. On Friday, the algorithms that run price discovery in 2025 sold stocks en masse because of a recessionary looking labor report that was really three consecutive recessionary-looking labor reports at once. On Monday, those same algorithms bought the market hand over fist because now the Fed will likely have to cut short-term interest rates in six weeks.”
He goes on to say that this game of “Chutes and Ladders” is occurring because we’ve removed humans from the art of price discovery and replaced them with algorithms. While the market is much cheaper to run (spreads are down), markets are less efficient. In other words, day-to-day volatility might be lower, but reaction to news is much harsher.
I couldn’t agree more.
Sarge also tells us that Wall Street strategists have turned bearish. They see a lethal combination of softening economic data and sky-high valuations. Perhaps “lethal” is a strong word. More accurately, they see a dip on the horizon that they feel will be worth buying.
But the reason why I’m quoting Sarge so much today is that he more succinctly than anybody has listed the four reasons that valuations are high and deserve to be.
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Lower taxes
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Less regulation
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Expected lower interest rates
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Increased productivity (on a per-employee basis) driven by artificial intelligence.
It all comes down to potential corporate growth and reduced expenses. Demand for workers probably will drop, however, which could be a net negative for economic growth.
How is the stock market looking this morning? Slightly up.
S&P 500 futures are higher by 0.12%, while Nasdaq futures are up 0.27%.
It’s still earnings season and several major companies have reported this morning.
After market close, we await reports from AMD, Super Micro Computer, and others, including EV makers Rivian and Lucid.
Check back throughout the day!
Stock Market Today: Stocks Fade From Higher Open first appeared on TheStreet on Aug 5, 2025
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 5, 2025, where it first appeared.