Dow Surges To Record High But Nasdaq, S&P 500 Little Changed

(RTTNews) - Stocks are turning in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 lingering near the unchanged line after moving notably higher over the two previous sessions.

However, the narrower Dow has shown a more substantial move to the upside, with the blue chip index reaching a new record intraday high.

The Dow is currently just off its highs of the session, up 411.80 points or 0.9 percent at 47,118.38. The S&P 500 is posting a more modest gain, up 12.38 points or 0.2 percent at 6,747.51, while the Nasdaq is down 20.39 points or 0.1 percent at 22,970.15.

The surge by the Dow partly reflects a sharp increase by shares of 3M (MMM), with the multinational conglomerate spiking by 5.6 percent after reporting better than expected third quarter results.

Beverage giant Coca-Cola (KO) has also jumped by 3.5 percent after reporting third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Dow components Salesforce (CRM), Sherwin-Williams (SHW) and Amazon (AMZN) are also posting significant gains on the day.

Meanwhile, the lack of direction being shown by the broader markets comes as traders take a breather following the recent upward move.

While the corporate earnings season is off to a positive start, traders may be reluctant to continue buying stocks amid lingering concerns about U.S.-China trade tensions and the ongoing government shutdown.

A lack of major U.S. economic data due in part to the shutdown may also be keeping some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of closely watched consumer price inflation data on Friday.

With most other economic reports indefinitely delayed, the inflation data could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week.

Sector News

While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, oil service stocks have moved sharply higher, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.5 percent.

Halliburton (HAL) has helped to lead the sector higher, soaring by 9.5 percent after reporting better than expected third quarter results.

Housing stocks are also turning in a strong performance on the day, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index climbing by 1.8 percent.

Retail and transportation stocks are also seeing some strength, while gold stocks are plummeting along with the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 10.1 percent.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Tuesday. China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.4 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.7 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are extending the upward move seen over the course of the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.3 basis points at 3.955 percent.