Gold also rose 0.6 per cent and recovered some of the losses it sustained following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, as investors herded into places traditionally considered safer during times of trouble.
Early in the day, such cautiousness overshadowed optimism coming from reports by big US retailers showing fatter profits for the summer than analysts expected.
Walmart climbed 3 per cent after topping forecasts for both profit and revenue. The nation’s biggest retailer said it saw broad-based strength across its categories, including sales made both online and in stores. It also said it served more upper-income households, while raising its forecasts for sales and profit for the full year.
Lowe’s likewise delivered bigger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but its stock nevertheless dropped 4.6 per cent. A report in the morning said construction crews broke ground on fewer new homes last month than economists expected, and rival Home Depot slipped 0.9 per cent.
Other big companies set to report their latest quarterly results this week include Target on Wednesday and Deere on Thursday.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, Super Micro Computer jumped 31.2 per cent after it filed a plan to keep its stock listed on Nasdaq’s exchange. It hired an independent auditor, BDO USA, which can help it file financial statements needed in order to comply with Nasdaq’s listing requirements.
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The company’s stock has been on a wild ride. It more than quadrupled in the first two and a half months of this year because the company makes servers used in AI. But it gave up all that and more, with losses accelerating after Ernst & Young resigned as its public accounting firm. A special committee of the company’s board later said that a three-month investigation found “no evidence of fraud or misconduct on the part of management or the Board of Directors.”
Berry Global Group fell 1.3 per cent after Amcor said it would buy the maker of prescription vials, bags and other products in an all-stock deal. Amcor dropped 2.6 per cent.
Incyte sank 8.3 per cent after the biopharmaceutical company said it’s pausing enrolment in its ongoing study of a potential treatment for hives in chronic spontaneous urticaria. It also said data from another study evaluating a potential treatment for cholestatic pruritus does not support further development.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 23.36 points to 5,916.98. The Dow dropped 120.66 to 43,268.94, and the Nasdaq composite rose 195.66 to 18,987.47.
In stock markets abroad, indexes in Asia were more stable than in Europe. They rose 0.7 per cent in Shanghai and 0.4 per cent in Hong Kong, rebounding from early losses.
AP
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