US stocks mixed as markets eye stimulus progress

Wall Street stocks were mixed at the end of a meandering session on Tuesday as investors assess the prospects for more stimulus from Washington and the odds of a market pullback.

US President Joe Biden was set to travel to Wisconsin to campaign for his US$1.9 trillion fiscal relief package now that the Senate has completed the impeachment trial of his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Investors are also grappling with concerns over lofty equity valuations after a series of records by major US stock indices.

“We still believe the market is ripe for a pullback,” said a note from Canaccord Genuity, which warned of corrections, “followed by even more gains.”

The Dow Jones edged to a fresh record at 31,522, up 0.2 percent.

But the S&P 500 declined 0.1 percent to 3,932, while the Nasdaq slid 0.3 percent to 14,047.

Among individual companies, Palantir Technologies slumped 12.8 percent as the software company reported a fourth-quarter loss of US$148.3 million.

Apple fell 1.6 percent following reports that Nissan said it was not working with the tech giant on autonomous driving technology.

General Motors slipped 0.1 percent as it unveiled the all-electric Bolt EUV, an SUV model that is part of the automaker’s fleet of new emission-free autos.

CVS Health dropped 5.0 percent on disappointment over the pharmacy chain’s 2021 profit forecast, which lagged analyst expectations. (AFP)