Blue-chip gains push Dow to record high; Nasdaq falls as tech stocks slump

Match leads S&P 500 gainers as Starboard takes stake

1 hour 14 minutes ago

Shares of Match Group (MTCH) jumped Tuesday on news that activist hedge fund Starboard Value has taken a large stake in the online dating giant and is already pushing for changes.

Match operates its namesake service alongside several other popular platforms, including Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, and others.

Starboard recently purchased shares representing about 6.6% of the company, making it the third-largest shareholder, Starboard said in a letter to Match management included in a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Shares of Match rose 8% Tuesday afternoon, making it the top gainer in the S&P 500.

–Aaron McDade

Bank of America surges on above-average results

2 hours 14 minutes ago

Bank of America (BAC) shares jumped more than 5% as second-quarter revenue and profit beat estimates.

The bank reported net income of $6.9 billion, or 83 cents a share, below last year’s results but still above analysts’ estimates. Revenue also beat expectations, rising about 1% year-over-year to $25.4 billion. Bank of America attributed the increase to higher expenses, as well as improved sales and trading revenue.

However, net interest income (NII) fell 3% to $13.7 billion, slightly below what analysts expected. Bank of America continued a downward trend in NII that began in last week’s banking results as higher deposit costs offset the benefit of higher interest rates.

Bank of America’s rivals JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C) have also reported higher second-quarter revenue from their investment banking businesses in recent days.

–Aaron McDade

Traders now price in 100% chance of Fed rate cut in September

3 hours and 6 minutes ago

Market participants are increasingly confident that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting its benchmark interest rate in September, with more cuts to follow before the end of the year, although Fed officials say they need to see more economic data before adjusting policy.

According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which forecasts rate movements based on federal funds futures trading data, traders are pricing in a 100% chance that the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark rate in September.1

That’s an increase from the 73% probability built in just a week ago.

Market participants also anticipate a high probability that once the Fed makes its first move in September, it will continue to cut at the November and December meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets monetary policy. Traders are predicting a roughly 60% chance that the federal funds rate will be 50 basis points lower than its current rate in November and 75 basis points lower in December.

The raised expectations follow a string of data releases that showed inflation moderating and economic activity slowing, indicating that the Fed’s two-year campaign of high interest rates is having its intended effect.

Fed officials acknowledged progress in fighting inflation but said they would rely on economic data to gain more confidence that inflation is moving closer to their 2% annual target.

–Taylor Tompkins

UnitedHealth leads Dow Jones gains after earnings report

4 hours 54 minutes ago

Shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH) rose Tuesday after the large health insurance provider posted better-than-expected profit on higher revenue from its Optum health care unit, while adding that costs associated with a February cyberattack would be higher than expected.

The company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $6.80, better than expected. Revenue rose 6.4% from a year earlier to $98.9 billion, in line with expectations.

UnitedHealth reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EPS outlook of $27.50 to $28.00, given last November, although the hack’s negative impact would be $0.60 to $0.70 per share.

Shares of UnitedHealth were up 5% about an hour into Tuesday trading.

–Bill McColl

DJIA Levels to Watch as Index Hits Record Highs

5 hours 36 minutes ago

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 300 points in early trading Tuesday, after closing at its first record high in two months the previous session.

On Monday, the index broke out of an ascending triangle, a chart pattern that indicates a continuation of the uptrend.

The measuring principle projects a short-term price target of 43,500, while a bar pattern projects a longer-term price target of around 46,615.

On retracements, the DJIA may find support near the upper and lower trendlines of the ascending triangle, at 40,000 and 39,300, respectively.

Read our technical analysis here.

–Timothy Smith

Stock futures point to higher open

7 hours 2 minutes ago

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures also rose 0.2%.