Stocks largely lose ground after shortfalls in consumer confidence and housing sales readings- Consumer confidence in May stalled on worries about economic growth closing.
- The
Nasdaq Composite eked out a small win.
US stocks largely turned lower on Tuesday after disappointing data about consumers and house sales soured sentiment at a time when investors are counting a revival in business activity that was paused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The
Here's where US indexes stood at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday:
- S&P 500: 4,188.17, down 0.21%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,311.73, down 0.24% (82.25 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 13,657.17, up 0.03%
Meanwhile, market speculation has picked up pace recently and retail investors should move with caution, Darren Schuringa, CEO of ASYMmetric ETFs, told Insider on Tuesday.
"When you start to see margin balances shoot up, that's a red flag for investors," he said. He said a study his firm conducted showed that margin balances in the US have hit record levels. With margin trading, investors borrow money from their brokerage companies and use the funds to buy stocks.
"It's a great indicator of a market peak. Margin balances before the Dot-Com bubble peaked. Before the Great Recession, they peaked. Currently, they are off the charts at over $800 billion, approaching $1 trillion." Schuringa said such balances have soared from around $479 billion after the coronavirus pandemic hit last year.
Around the
Gold rose 0.9% to $1,897.94 per ounce. Long-dated US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year yield at 1.56%.
Oil prices were mixed. West Texas Intermediate crude declined 0.2%, to $65.93 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, rose 0.1% to $68.52 per barrel.
Bitcoin dropped 2%, to $37,920.15.