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Stock market today: Stocks fade into the close as Nasdaq lags

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US stocks reversed gains late in Tuesday’s trading day as markets continued to take a breather from a record-setting run that’s become the story on Wall Street during the first quarter of the year.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), which was on pace for a record close, fell late in the session to close down roughly 0.4%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dipped nearly 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped about 0.1%.

On Tuesday, the focus turned to economic data. Durable goods orders rebounded during the month of February, rising 1.4% last month amid increases in transportation equipment and machinery orders, according to the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau.

In other economic news, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose 6% in January from a year ago, up from December’s 5.6% gain. January’s annual increase was the highest since 2022.

Meanwhile, a fresh reading on US consumer confidence showed consumers are feeling less confident about the future state of the US economy.

According to new data released Tuesday morning, The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for March came in at a reading of 104.7, little changed from a revised 104.8 in February.

However, the “Expectations Index,” which tracks consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, fell to 73.8 in March from 76.3 last month. Historically, a reading below 80 in that category signals a recession in the coming year.

All of the data this week serve as appetizers for the main event on Friday, when the government will release the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, otherwise known as PCE. That contains the Federal Reserve’s preferred look at the pace of inflation, in the form of “core” PCE growth.

In company news, former President Donald Trump’s social media company made its Wall Street debut after merging with Digital World Acquisition Corp. Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (DJT), which had risen more than 50% earlier in the session, finished the day up 16%.

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER12 updates

  • Stocks reverse gains into the close

    US stocks reversed gains late in the trading day on Tuesday, dragged down by big tech.

    The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), which was on pace for a record close, fell late in the session to close down roughly 0.4%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dipped nearly 0.3% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped about 0.1%.

  • Investors haven’t maxed out their risk appetite yet

    There have been signs of risk taking all over the market this week.

    Reddit stock (RDDT) has rallied more than 30% since since its initial public offering last Thursday and a has brought with it a resurgence in the meme trade.

    Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has pressed near $71,000 per coin. MicroStrategy (MSTR), a stock that more closely follows the price of bitcoin than typical fundamental drivers like earnings, is now up more than 200% year to date after a massive rally on Monday. And the commodities trade is ripping too, with Gold (GC=F) up 7% in the last month and sitting near an all-time high. The price of cocoa (CC=F) has risen nearly 50% over the same time period.

    The big moves come as the broader market sits at all-time highs. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) has hit 20 all-time highs in less than three months of trading this year, putting it on pace for the most record closes in any year ever year. The straight up and to the right nature of the benchmark’s rise over the last several months — it hasn’t produced a negative month since October 2023 — has had many asking if we’re in a stock market bubble that’s about to pop.

    Many strategists have argued the answer is no. In a research note on Monday, Deutsche Bank’s equity strategy team reasoned that the $260 billion that’s poured into equities since last May doesn’t indicate a peak in risk appetite. Instead, it’s been supported by an improving outlook for both the economy and earnings.

    Using the chart below, which accounts for seasonal and cyclical flows into equities, Deutsche Bank director of global asset allocation and US equity strategy Parag Thatte told Yahoo Finance the firm hasn’t seen flows data pick up purely because of risk appetite yet.

    “If flows or positioning were to get to an extreme, it becomes an issue by itself, because people could get nervous holding extended positions when we’re at a extreme,” Thatte said.

    “But because we’re not yet at those levels, what we would say is that you will need some sort of a negative catalyst in order for people to pull positions back.”

  • Trump Media, Tesla, Krispy Kreme: Stocks trending in afternoon trading

    Here are some of the stocks trending on Yahoo Finance in afternoon trading:

    Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. (DJT): The parent company of Truth Social, Donald Trump’s social media company, surged more than 40% in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq. The company merged with special purpose vehicle Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) in a deal approved by shareholders last week.

    Tesla (TSLA): Shares of the EV giant jumped about 4% on Tuesday after CEO Elon Musk said US customers will be able to utilize the company’s self-driving software as part of a monthlong free trial. The technology is often referred to as Full Self-Driving, or FSD.

    Krispy Kreme (DNUT): The stock jumped nearly 30% after the company announced its national partnership with McDonald’s (MCD) will be expanding. Analysts say the partnership will “unlock” value for Krispy Kreme, which began selling donuts at McDonald’s locations in 2022. A nationwide rollout is slated for 2026.

    Viking Therapeutics (VKTX): Shares soared more than 20% after the biopharmaceutical company reported positive early-phase results for its oral weight-loss drug. According to the results, the pill showed no safety issues and a majority of side effects were mild.

  • Consumer Discretionary leads sector action

    US stocks continued to extend gains amid a record-setting run.

    In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) jumped about 0.3%, or more than 100 points, while both the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) each rose roughly 0.2%.

    Consumer Discretionary led the day’s sector action, followed by Financials and Health Care. Utilities and Energy served as the afternoon’s biggest laggards.

    (Source: Yahoo Finance)

    (Source: Yahoo Finance)

  • Cocoa futures hit all-time highs amid supply deficit

    Cocoa futures touched above $10,000 a metric ton for the fist time ever — just ahead of the Easter holiday.

    The historic rise comes amid an annual supply deficit in West Africa. Prices have soared nearly 250% over the past year.

    The high costs will likely continue to pressure the profits of chocolate manufacturers and it’s possible those costs could be passed on to the consumer.

    On Tuesday, Hershey’s stock (HSY) was downgraded at BNP Paribas Exane to Neutral from Outperform. Analysts cited the uptick in cocoa inflation, saying the recent surge in prices “could well be structural” due to new EU deforestation regulation that could hurt supplies.

  • Home prices rose in January at fastest clip since 2022

    The rate at which US home prices grew ticked higher at the start of the year, according to new data released Tuesday.

    The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose 6% in January from a year ago, up from December’s 5.6% gain. January’s annual increase was the highest since 2022.

    San Diego and Los Angeles led the gains among the 20 cities tracked with annual increases of about 11% and 9%, respectively.

    The data’s release comes as high borrowing costs have kept buyers from buying and sellers, many of whom are locked into lower mortgage rates, from putting their homes on the market. But limited housing supply has continued to push home prices up despite mortgage rates hovering closer to 7%.

    The market is starting to show some signs of a recovery, though: Inventory has started to rise recently. Meanwhile, home price growth is finally back to where it was before the pandemic, according to February data from Redfin.

    Still, economists expect price gains to slow later this year as more supply comes online. Fannie Mae expects home prices to rise 3.2% in 2024.

  • Trump’s Truth Social soars in first day of trading

    Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social (DJT) surged about 40% in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq early Tuesday.

    As of mid-morning trading, shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, Truth Social’s parent company, were trading around $70 under the ticker symbol “DJT,” Trump’s initials.

    The company merged with special purpose vehicle Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) in a deal approved by shareholders last week. Prior to the merger, DWAC had been on the public market since 2021.

    Trump founded Truth Social after he was kicked off major social media apps like Facebook and Twitter, the platform now known as X, following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots in 2021. He has since been reinstated on the platforms.

    Trump will maintain a roughly 60% stake in Truth Social, or nearly 79 million shares. That translates to a valuation of more than $5 billion based on current trading levels.

    Read more here.

  • Consumers less confident about economic future

    Consumers are feeling less confident about the future state of the US economy, according to new data released Tuesday morning.

    The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for March came in at a reading of 104.7, little changed from a revised 104.8 in February.

    February’s preliminary reading was 106.7. It was the first time confidence had declined since November. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a reading of 107 for March.

    In one positive, the “Present Situation Index,” which measures consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions, increased to 151 in March from 147.6 in February.

    However, the “Expectations Index,” which tracks consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, fell to 73.8 in March from 76.3 last month. Historically, a reading below 80 in that category signals a recession in the coming year.

    “Consumers’ assessment of the present situation improved in March, but they also became more pessimistic about the future,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board.

    “Confidence rose among consumers aged 55 and over but deteriorated for those under 55. Separately, consumers in the $50,000-$99,999 income group reported lower confidence in March, while confidence improved slightly in all other income groups,” Peterson added. “However, over the last six months, confidence has been moving sideways with no real trend to the upside or downside either by income or age group.”

    *Shaded areas indicate recession (Source: The Conference Board)

    *Shaded areas indicate recession (Source: The Conference Board)

  • US stocks open higher, led by Nasdaq

    US stocks opened higher on Tuesday, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

    At the opening bell, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose about 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) edged higher by roughly 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) jumped nearly 0.4%.

  • Reddit rally rages on

    The post-IPO Reddit (RDDT) rally has continued.

    After a 30% pop on Monday, shares are up another 14% premarket. The company has the top trending ticker page on Yahoo Finance this morning.

    Reddit’s market cap now stands at nearly $10 billion, up sharply from the $6.5 billion valuation the company priced its IPO at last week.

    Some perspective:

    • Meta (META) market cap: $1.28 trillion

    • Snap (SNAP) market cap: $18.6 billion

  • Cocoa prices rip higher — here’s the problem for Hershey

    The sell-off in Hershey’s (HSY) stock is picking up as cocoa prices rip to a record high.

    Hershey shares are off by 5% in the past five trading sessions as cocoa prices have moved beyond a record $10,000 a ton. Cocoa prices have more than doubled this year on the back of poor crop conditions in West African regions.

    The problem for Hershey is that it seems well behind the curve on raising prices to offset less-than-sweet cocoa costs. Hershey is in the midst of implementing new technology that better tracks ordering, shipping, and prices, which is weighing on execution. In turn, Hershey’s profit margins in the first half of 2024 stand to be under a great deal of pressure.

    A reminder on this issue from Hershey’s early February earnings call. The comments are from CFO Steve Voskuil:

    “When we think about the impact of future price increase, we’re really challenged in the first half of this year just because of the ERP [enterprise resource planning] implementation — it puts some limitations on what we can do. And you can imagine enormous collaboration between us and retailers to execute that transformation. So we’re trying to keep things very stable during that period. And so further price increases should they come, will benefit more the back half of the year and probably more so 2025.”

  • The next shoe to drop at Under Armour

    The revolving C-suite door at struggling Under Armour (UAA) is likely to keep spinning in the months ahead.

    Returning CEO and founder Kevin Plank is likely to make leadership team changes in the months ahead, a person familiar with the matter tells me. This makes sense as the leadership team was completely overhauled by exiting CEO Stephanie Linnartz, as I have reported.

    Other top executives not keen on working with Plank — a controversial leader with a checkered history of delivering cultural excellence — are already eyeing the exits, the source tells me.

    Plank essentially booted Linnartz from the CEO position, sources told me, angering corporate employees.

    Under Armour shares are down about 14% since Plank announced his return on March 13 as investors fret over uncertainty at the company.

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