Stocks were mixed to kick off August as market participants weighed another batch of corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added more than 70 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite lost about 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled on Tuesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -0.27% or -12.23 points to 4,576.73
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.20% or +71.15 points to 35,630.68
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -0.43% or -62.11 points to 14,283.91
The second-quarter earnings season drove most of Wall Street's moves on Tuesday. For Dow-members, Merck (NYSE: MRK) reported a smaller-than-expected loss and strong revenues, while Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) shares jumped nearly 9% after posting better-than-expected results.
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) posted mixed results, with revenue falling short of Wall Street estimates as COVID product sales declined during the quarter. The pharmaceutical giant said it is prepared to cut costs moving forward is COVID-related revenues continue to wane this year.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said during an earnings call Tuesday that the second half of the year will "play a bigger role in informing our expectations for the long-term demand" of the drugmaker's COVID offerings. "We expect a new COVID-19 wave to start in the U.S. this fall, and this expectation is supported by the increase in infection rates we are already seeing," Bourla said.
Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) shares rose after the tech company posted its first-ever GAAP operating profit and its first quarter of free cash flow over $1 billion. "Both of these milestones were achieved through a combination of disciplined execution, record audience and strong engagement," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a prepared statement.
ZoomInfo Technologies (NASDAQ: ZI) lost nearly 27% after the data company gave weak outlook for its upcoming third quarter after missing analyst estimates. The company expects Q3 revenue between $309 million to $312 million, below estimates of $326 million, according to Refinitiv data.
JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) shares fell more than 8% after the airline cut its full-year outlook as more travelers choose to fly internationally. The carrier said it now expects full-year earnings to range of $0.05 to $0.40 per share, down from a previous estimate of as much as $1. JetBlue also expects a loss for the current quarter and a decline in revenue year-over-year.
Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE: NCLH) shares fell over 12% after the cruise operator issued weak expectations for its current quarter following better-than-expected results in the second quarter.
In economic news, job openings fell in June, according to the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey released Tuesday. U.S. job openings totaled 9.58 million for the month, slightly below May's downwardly revised print of 9.62 million. June's print was the lowest level for openings since April 2021. Meanwhile, layoffs lowered to 1.53 million for the month.
The ISM manufacturing PMI reading came in at 46.4 for July, marking the ninth straight month the index has contracted as readings below the neutral level of 50 signal sector contraction. Still, last month's print was slightly above June's reading of 46.
"Demand remains weak but marginally better compared to June, production slowed due to lack of work, and suppliers continue to have capacity. There are signs of more employment reduction actions in the near term to better match production output," said Timothy R. Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, in a statement.
Looking ahead, earnings reports from Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) and Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) are set for released after closing bell. Wall Street will also react to earnings from companies including CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) and Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) on Wednesday, alongside ADP's employment report for July.