U.S. stocks rose slightly on Tuesday, but gains remained in check amid cautious trading ahead of quarterly earnings from major technology companies.
At 14:59 ET (18:59 GMT), the S&P 500 was up 58 points, or 0.2%, while the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% and the S&P 500 was up 0.2%.
Alphabet and Tesla Prepare to Start Making ‘Magnificent 7’ Earnings
Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:) and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:) are set to start making gains from the “Magnificent 7” group of large-cap tech stocks, which also includes Apple Inc (NASDAQ:), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:).
Alphabet is set to provide more clues about how Wall Street’s internet giants are leveraging AI, as well as how much they are spending on developing the new technology.
Tesla’s earnings are expected to show how the electric carmaker is coping with the sharp drop in demand, while the focus will also be on its promises of AI-powered self-driving and robotaxi.
Coca-Cola and GE score impressive earnings results, but UPS and GM miss
Coca-Cola (NYSE:) shares rose about 1% after the soft drink giant raised its outlook for annual organic sales and earnings, pointing to strong demand for its beverages in its U.S. and international markets.
GE Aerospace (NYSE:) shares rose more than 6% after the industrial giant raised its annual profit forecast amid strong demand for aftermarket services, including aircraft engine parts.
General Motors (NYSE:) shares fell more than 6% after the automaker said it would delay plans to introduce a new Buick electric vehicle and pushed back plans to open an EV truck factory, with GM’s CEO saying the reduced investment in electric vehicles was to ensure the automaker doesn’t get ahead of demand.
United Parcel Shares of the package delivery company (NYSE:) fell more than 13% after the company reported disappointing second-quarter earnings, amid weak revenue in its domestic business.
The earnings streak is expected to intensify this week, with about a quarter of the companies in the S&P 500 index scheduled to report this week.
Political uncertainty continues.
Beyond corporate earnings, investors will also be watching the US political outlook, with Vice President Kamala Harris likely to become the Democratic presidential nominee following President Joe Biden’s statement that he will not seek re-election.
Recent polls have shown Republican nominee Donald Trump leading Biden and Harris, though it was unclear whether Harris’ nomination would change that trend.
Trump said Tuesday he would be willing to debate Vice President Kamala Harris if she wins a roll call vote at next month’s Democratic National Convention.
Ether ETFs Officially Start Trading
Gold prices fell more than 1% even as the first wave of ether-powered exchange-traded funds (ETFs) began trading. Ether-powered ETFs are from a range of issuers including BlackRock (NYSE: ), Fidelity, Invesco and others.
The approval of the Ether ETF comes just six months after the launch of the Bitcoin ETF.
(Peter Norris and Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)