Wall Street Stocks Show Mixed Performance Today

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 Wall Street stocks mixed on Tuesday and the dollar slipped from a 16 -month high as investors assessed the situation regarding an interest rate hike in 2022 after Jerome Powell was nominated as chairman of the Federal Reserve (Fed) for a second term.


High treasury yields have hurt key U.S. technology stocks particularly on the Nasdaq. Bank shares extended yesterday’s gains and limited losses elsewhere.


The Dow Jones Industrial Avarage Index rose 0.54% to end at 35,813.28 points and the S&P 500 .SPX added 0.17% at 4,690.69 while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.5% at 15,775.14.


The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 1.3% with only the oil & gas sector and basic resources traded higher.


On Monday, President Joe Biden re -nominated Jerome Powell for the post of Fed chairman for the second time where he outperformed Wall Street shares before it retreated in the afternoon with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing slightly better.


It is believed a second term under Powell could add to the desire for policymaking to curb rising inflation that has also led investors to buy dollars.



The dollar index which measures a basket of 6 other currencies fell 0.07% while the Euro rose 0.12% slightly recovering from a July 2020 low on better -than -expected business growth data.


U.S. treasury yields soared in trading as investors prepared with expectations the Fed would be more aggressive in curbing inflation even as two -year note yields slumped after hitting their highest level since early March 2020 on Monday.


Meanwhile, European stocks slipped to a 3-week low as the biggest daily losses spread in nearly 2 months due to a rise in Covid-19 cases that raised concerns over tighter sanctions.


The European STOXX 50 volatility index that measures European stock market concerns hit its highest level in almost 7 weeks.


US gold futures fell 1.3% to $ 1,783 an ounce also under pressure from rate hikes.


Brent oil futures were up $ 2.61 or 3.3% at $ 82.31 while US crude oil prices jumped $ 1.75 or 2.3% at $ 78.50.

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