Dow Jones Today: Blue Chip Gains Push Dow to All-Time High; Nasdaq Slips as Tech Stocks Tumble

Match Leads S&P 500 Gainers as Starboard Takes Stake

1 hr 5 min ago

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

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

 Starboard has recently purchased shares amounting to about 6.6% of the company, which makes the firm the third-largest shareholder, Starboard said in a letter to Match leadership included in a Monday Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

Match shares were up 8% Tuesday afternoon, making them the top gainer on the S&P 500.

–Aaron McDade

Bank of America Jumps on Earnings Beat

2 hr 5 min 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 per share, below last year’s marks but still better than analysts had estimated. Revenue also beat estimates as it grew about 1% year-over-year to $25.4 billion. Bank of America credited higher fees, along with improved sales and trading revenue.

However, net interest income (NII) dropped 3% to $13.7 billion, narrowly below the number analysts were looking for. Bank of America continued a trend of lower NII that started in last week’s bank earnings as greater 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) in recent days also reported higher second-quarter revenue from their investment banking activities.

–Aaron McDade

Traders Now Pricing in 100% Chance of Fed Rate Cut in September

2 hr 57 min ago

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

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

 That’s up from the 73% likelihood priced in just a week ago.

Market participants are also pricing in a high probability that once the Fed makes its first move in September it will continue cutting at the November and December meetings of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee. Traders predict there’s a roughly 60% chance the fed funds rate will be 50 basis points lower than its current rate in November and 75 basis points lower in December.

The increased expectations follow a number of data releases that have shown inflation is moderating and economic activity is slowing, an indication that the Fed’s two-year campaign of high interest rates is having its intended effect.

Fed officials have acknowledged the progress in the fight against inflation, but have said they will be reliant on economic data to give them more confidence that inflation is moving toward their annual goal of 2%.

–Taylor Tompkins

UnitedHealth Leads Dow Gainers After Earnings

4 hr 45 min ago

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) shares advanced Tuesday after the big health insurance provider posted better-than-expected profit on higher revenue from its Optum health care unit, while adding that the costs associated with a February cyberattack would be greater than previously estimated.

The company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $6.80, more than anticipated. Revenue was up 6.4% year-over-year to $98.9 billion, in line with forecasts.

UnitedHealth affirmed its full-year adjusted EPS outlook of $27.50 to $28.00 that it gave last November, even though the negative impact of the hack would be $0.60 to $0.70 per share.

UnitedHealth shares were up 5% about an hour into Tuesday’s session.

–Bill McColl

DJIA Levels to Watch as Index Hits Record Highs

5 hr 28 min ago

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

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

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

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

Read our technical analysis here.

–Timothy Smith

Stock Futures Point to Higher Open

6 hr 53 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures also rose 0.2%.