US shares finish lower after day of wide swings

Tuesday saw US equities end the session in the red, though the final moves do not capture the full picture. The Dow traversed a range of almost 729 points, and both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fluctuated above and below the flat line. The Nasdaq 100, however, remained in negative territory throughout the day.

The quarterly earnings period kicked off with reports from JPMorgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth. The outcomes were varied, yet the price responses were uniform: every one of the six stocks declined. Neither earnings surprises to the upside nor upgraded outlooks could sustain buying interest.

Market focus now shifts to the September US CPI release, scheduled for Wednesday at 8:30 AM ET. That data point will provide traders with another significant benchmark as they balance corporate earnings against the inflation landscape.

The closing figures for the major indices:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: fell 181.02 points, or 0.35%, to close at 51,675.16.

• S&P 500: dropped 1.73 points, or 0.02%, ending at 7,805.51.

• Nasdaq Composite: decreased 41.52 points, or 0.15%, to 27,204.38.

• Russell 2000: declined 11.10 points, or 0.40%, settling at 2,783.38.

• Nasdaq 100: lost 95.22 points, or 0.31%, finishing at 30,569.48.

Both buyers and sellers had their opportunities during the session. The day's high and low extremes underscore the volatile back-and-forth:

• Dow: reached a high of +466.06 points and a low of -263.00 points, for a total range of 729.06 points.

• S&P 500: hit a high of +6.91 points and a low of -21.13 points.

• Nasdaq Composite: peaked at +31.98 points and bottomed at -129.82 points.

• Nasdaq 100: its best level was -68.89 points and its worst was -292.40 points.

Buyers in the Dow briefly pushed it into positive territory, but were unable to sustain those gains. Sellers likewise could not drive the broader benchmarks to stay near their session troughs. The S&P 500 closed just barely in the red, while the Nasdaq 100 rebounded about 200 points off its lowest point of the day. This bounce helped mitigate the losses, though it was insufficient to flip the overall session into the green.

Earnings results and the corresponding stock reactions:

• Goldman Sachs: reported earnings and revenue above estimates, yet its stock declined 0.23%. Per-share earnings came in at $17.01 versus the $13.07 consensus, and revenue of $18.7 billion surpassed the $16.84 billion forecast.

• JPMorgan Chase: fell short on both earnings and revenue, and its shares dropped 0.88%. EPS of $5.57 missed the $5.93 estimate, and revenue of $50.2 billion was below the $51.23 billion projection. The bank increased its full-year net interest income forecast to $106.2 billion, up from its prior guidance of $105.5 billion and above the $105.28 billion consensus.

• Wells Fargo: topped earnings expectations but missed on both revenue and net interest income, sending shares down 3.12%. EPS of $1.87 exceeded the $1.85 estimate, while revenue of $21.9 billion fell short of the $22.31 billion forecast and net interest income of $12.5 billion was below the $12.7 billion expected.

• Citigroup: its shares posted the steepest drop among the four banks reporting, down 5.60%.

• Johnson & Johnson: missed on adjusted earnings, though revenue came in slightly above estimates; shares dropped 5.73%. Adjusted EPS of $2.59 was below the $2.67 forecast, while revenue of $25.4 billion marginally topped the $25.38 billion consensus. The company raised its full-year adjusted EPS projection to a range of $11.05–$11.15, up from $10.96–$11.11.

• UnitedHealth: exceeded earnings and revenue estimates, and issued guidance above consensus, yet its shares edged down 0.20%. Adjusted EPS of $4.69 beat the $4.12 forecast, and revenue of $112.7 billion surpassed the $111.31 billion expectation. The company guided full-year adjusted EPS to at least $20.50, compared with the $19.80 estimate.

Semiconductor stocks faced pressure, though a few technology names moved higher.

• Applied Materials: dropped 6.69%.

• Cadence Design Systems: fell 4.08%.

• Micron: declined 3.65%.

• KLA: lost 3.22%.

• SK hynix ADR: decreased 3.19%.

Caterpillar also slid 3.34%.

Some stocks managed to rise despite the broader pressure. Oracle and Meta posted gains, and Texas Instruments diverged from the weakness seen in many chip-sector peers.

Among the day's notable advancers:

• Oracle: advanced 4.28%.

• First Solar: climbed 3.83%.

• Deere: rose 2.75%.

• Meta Platforms: gained 2.63%.

• Shake Shack: added 2.57%.

• CF Industries: increased 2.31%.

• Box: moved up 2.29%.

• Texas Instruments: rose 2.17%.

• General Motors: was up 2.01%.

A key takeaway from today's action: exceeding earnings estimates does not guarantee a positive stock reaction. Both Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth surpassed earnings and revenue forecasts, yet they finished the day in the red. For less experienced market participants, this underscores that the reported numbers and the subsequent market response are not the same. Pay attention to whether buyers are able to maintain early advances and push through resistance levels. If those gains fade, the earnings surprise on its own does not provide sufficient confirmation. The day's wide intraday ranges also demonstrate how the final change can mask the level of risk traders dealt with during the session.