US stocks dip as investors weigh strong retail earnings against growing recession concerns
US stocks edged lower Tuesday as traders took in corporate earnings from retail giants Home Depot and Walmart.
Both of the major retailers beat earnings expectations. Shares of Walmart rallied 4.25% after its strong earnings report, while Home Depot slipped 1.2%.
However, traders weighed the upbeat news against a less optimistic note from Bank of America, which released .
"Sentiment remains bearish, but no longer apocalyptically bearish as hopes rise that inflation & rates shocks end in coming quarters," BofA analysts wrote in the bank's survey of fund managers.
Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday:
- S&P 500: 4,287.75, down 0.22%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,889.97, down 0.07% (22.47 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 13,091.02, down 0.31%
Roughly 58% of investors expect a recession to hit the US economy in the next 12 months, according to the Bank of America's survey. That's up from 47% last month, and stands as the highest mark since May 2020.
Famed "Dr. Doom" economist Nouriel Roubini said investors are delusional if they expect the Fed to pivot to cutting interest rates next year even as stocks stage a rally.
Meanwhile, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway boosted its Apple stake, bet big on energy stocks, and tweaked its bank holdings last quarter.
And fellow billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, for his part, sold off Big Tech stocks after he had warned of a coming recession next year.
Overseas, European power prices hit a record for a fifth day in a row, as "perfect storm" conditions continue to plague the continent's energy system.
Oil inched lower, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.15% to $89.28 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dipped 0.33% to $94.77 a barrel.
Gold edged lower 0.47% to 1,789.40 per ounce. The 10-year Treasury yield dipped 2.9 basis points to 2.82%.
Bitcoin fell 0.36% to $23,949.01.