Dow Trades Back Into Record Territory, Nasdaq Turns Negative - TheStreet

Stocks rose further into record territory on Tuesday, Jan. 9, amid optimism ahead of the start of corporate earnings season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 56 points, or 0.22%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.07%. The Nasdaq turned negative, falling 0.07% after scoring an intraday record, like the Dow and S&P 500, soon after markets opened on Tuesday.

The leading sector Tuesday was financials. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. releases fourth-quarter earnings on Friday, Jan. 12. The Dow was led by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Travelers Cos. (TRV) .

The rally to start 2018 slowed a little on Monday, with the Dow slipping 0.05% but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished higher at new records.

The dollar index, a measure of the greenback's strength against a basket of six global currencies, added 0.31% on Tuesday to change hands at 92.63, thanks in part to modestly higher U.S. Treasury bonds yields and profit-taking in the euro, which has the largest influence on the dollar basket. 

Intel Corp. (INTC) CEO Brian Krzanich said in his keynote address Monday at CES 2018 that the chipmaker signed new partnerships with Chinese automaker SAIC Motor Corp. and Chinese mapping firm Navinfo. The stock gained fell 0.6%.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) said Tuesday that some of its customers with devices that use chips designed by Advanced Micro Devices Inc.  (AMD) could not restart them after installing a recent security update and that it would temporarily halt the "patches" designed to correct recently revealed security flaws. AMD shares fell 4.1%.

Target Corp. (TGT)  shares rose 2.6% after the retailer joined a handful of its peers that have reported positive comparable-store sales growth in the holiday period between November and December, driven by strong traffic and e-commerce sales. The big box chain reported on Tuesday, Jan. 9, comp growth of 3.4% and an expected 25% growth in digital sales.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) tumbled 5.3% after the retailer said comparable-store sales in its retail segment rose 2% in the holiday period, but that was offset by negative retail store sales.

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) , said he would consider listing the company in Hong Kong and increasing investment in the city, the South China Morning Post reported. Alibaba  fell 0.6%.

Shares of Altice USA Inc. (ATUS) jumped 14% after its parent company said it plans spin off its controlling stake in the U.S. unit.

Europe's Stoxx 600 index added 0.24% on Tuesday, while Asian stocks closed the session higher.

Global oil markets extended gains ahead of what could prove to be critical inventory data from the United States later this week. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.49% on Tuesday to $62.03 a barrel.

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