Wall Street is red in response to data, earnings

WALL STREET IS RED IN RESPONSE TO DATA, EARNINGS

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 turned lower with the Dow and then Nasdaq followed suit after trying valiantly to cling to a small gain on Tuesday as investors eyed a mixed batch of economic data and corporate reports with U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies and uncertainties about final tariff levels adding pressure to businesses.

Caterpillar CAT.N missed second-quarter profit expectations on Tuesday due to sluggish demand for construction equipment and warned of up to $1.5 billion hit from costs tied to U.S. tariffs in 2025. Its shares are off 0.9%.

Shares of Palantir Technologies PLTR.O are rising more than 8% after the data analytics and defense software provider lifted its annual revenue forecast for the second time this year, betting on strong demand for its AI-related services from governments and companies.

In healthcare, Pfizer PFE.N shares are up 4% after raising its annual profit forecast as it expects to benefit from cost-cutting and a weaker dollar. Shares of online telehealth company Hims and Hers Health HIMS.N are collapsing more than 10% after missing Street estimates for second-quarter revenue, as subscribers for its compounded versions of weight-loss drugs declined.

Equities lost ground and turned from green to red after data showed that U.S. services sector activity unexpectedly flatlined in July with little change in orders and a further weakening in employment even as input costs climbed the most in nearly three years, underscoring the ongoing drag of uncertainty from tariff policies.

Separately, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed in June on a sharp drop in consumer goods imports, the latest evidence of the imprint that sweeping tariffs on imported goods may be having on global commerce. The overall trade gap narrowed 16.0% in June to $60.2 billion, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Tuesday.

Among the S&P 500's 11 major industry sectors only four are showing gains with consumer discretionary S5COND rising most as heavyweight Amazon.com AMZN is up 1.4%. Energy SPN, off more than 1%, is the biggest loser.

Here is your early trading snapshot from just shortly before 10:30 a.m. EDT:

(Sinéad Carew)

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