U.S. equity indexes exhibited mixed trading patterns while government bond yields experienced a notable decline on Tuesday. This shift comes amid rising tensions over the war between Russia and Ukraine. The S&P 500 managed a slight increase of 0.2%, reaching 5,907.1, while the Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.7%, hitting 18,922.4, recovering from earlier session losses.
Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 0.3%, settling at 43,276.6. The technology sector led the gains, while the energy sector faced the sharpest intraday losses. Recent reports indicate that Ukraine has begun launching U.S.-supplied long-range missiles towards the Bryansk region in Russia.
This strategic development follows Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent approval of changes to the nation's nuclear doctrine, which permits a possible nuclear response to any attack from a nation supported by a nuclear power. The majority of U.S. Treasury yields decreased during the day, with the 10-year yield dropping by 3.5 basis points to 4.38%. In the economic arena, online retail sales in the U.S.
experienced a boost of 2.6% in Q3, following a 1.6% increase in the previous quarter, marking a 7.4% year-over-year growth, as per the U.S. Census Bureau's reporting. This year-over-year rise surpassed the total retail sales increase of 2.1% for the same time period. The Redbook reported a rise in same-store sales by 5.1% year-over-year for the week ending November 16, building on a previous 4.8% increase. In the housing sector, October saw housing starts decline by 3.1% from September, landing at an annual rate of 1.311 million, and falling short of Bloomberg's anticipated rate of 1.33 million.
The prior month’s pace was revised down to 1.353 million. Building permits also saw a slight dip of 0.6%, landing at a rate of 1.416 million in October, which was below the expected rate of 1.44 million and followed a drop to 1.425 million the previous month. Furthermore, homes permitted but not yet started decreased, indicating a pessimistic outlook for improvement in housing starts for the upcoming month. In corporate updates, Super Micro Computer’s ($SMCI) shares surged an impressive 29% during trading, making it the top performer in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
The company announced its appointment of BDO USA as its independent auditor and submitted a plan to Nasdaq seeking an extension to comply with the exchange’s continued listing requirements. Walmart ($WMT) raised its full-year forecast and reported stronger-than-expected fiscal Q3 results, resulting in a 4% intraday surge in its shares, placing the stock among the Dow's leading gainers. On the other hand, Incyte (INCY) announced it will pause enrollment in its ongoing phase 2 study of MRGPRX2 (INCB000262) for chronic spontaneous urticaria, leading to a significant 14% drop in its shares, marking the worst performance on the S&P 500. In the commodities market, gold prices increased by 0.6% to $2,629.01 per ounce, while silver saw a modest increase of 0.1%, trading at $31.26 per ounce..