US Stocks End Flat Amid Mixed Cues, Soaring Home Prices

US stock markets closed flat on Tuesday, May 25, a day after a solid headstart for the week, as investors remained cautious amid volatility in the markets and soaring home prices.

The S&P 500 was down 0.21% to 4,188.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.24% to 34,312.46. The NASDAQ Composite Index ended flat at 13,657.17. The small-cap Russell 2000 ticked down 0.97% to 2,205.75.

Investors appeared to be looking for clear signals from the corporate world before betting on stocks. Nine of the 11 major segments on the S&P 500 pulled back in Tuesday's session. The index's energy sector dropped around 1% after energy giant Exxon Mobil shed about 2.3% in intra-day trade. The prices of Brent and WTI crude futures also marginally declined from the previous session.

Exxon stock fell after the investment management firm BlackRock Inc. said it would support four other companies to participate on the energy giant's board.

The airline stocks on the blue-chip index gained around 1.5%, lifted by robust gains of United Airlines and Hawaiian Holdings Inc., the owner of Hawaiian Airlines, which rose 3.2% and 4.5%, respectively. The gains come after both companies gave an optimistic estimate about their traffic and ticket sales.

Boeing climbed 1.66% after aircraft leasing firm SMBC Aviation Capital ordered 14 more 737 jets from the company in a sign of sustained recovery for the airline industry from the pandemic.

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In the real estate sector, home prices continued to rise YoY in March, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which monitors home rates in the municipalities. Home prices jumped 13% in the 12 months ended March, from 12% in the corresponding period. It was the highest jump in US home prices in 15 years, said analysts after gleaning the data.

MGM Resorts gained 1.92%, automobile company Lordstown Motors Corp. dropped 8.79%, and Apple shed 0.16% amid monopoly allegations by Epic Games. Microsoft and Amazon.com rose 0.37% and 0.43%, respectively. Google and Facebook were trading flat.

Banking stocks Mastercard Inc. and Bank of America Corp. declined 1.39% and 1.45%, respectively, while software company Adobe Inc. climbed 1.46%.

In cryptocurrencies, Coinbase Global and Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. gained about 7% each.

Overall, the real estate, consumer cyclicals, and technology segments saw subdued gains, while consumer non-cyclicals, industrials, healthcare, materials, financials, and energy sectors pulled back.

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Top Gainers

Top performers on S&P 500 included NVR Inc (3.95%), Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (3.65%), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (3.56%), Synopsys Inc (2.92%). On NASDAQ, top performers were Pieris Pharmaceuticals Inc (103.24%), Moxian Inc (30.33%), Taiwan Liposome Co Ltd (28.69%), Protagenic Therapeutics Inc (28.30%). On Dow Jones, Boeing Co (1.39%), Walt Disney Co (1.07%), Home Depot Inc (0.61%), UnitedHealth Group Inc (0.51%) were the leaders.

Top Losers

Top laggards on S&P 500 included Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (-4.74%), APA Corp (US) (-4.50%), Edison International (-4.49%), Baker Hughes Co (-4.02%). On NASDAQ, Novan Inc (-40.36%), Petros Pharmaceuticals Inc (-17.03%), Obalon Therapeutics Inc (-16.92%), HyreCar Inc (-16.04%). On Dow Jones, Amgen Inc (-2.32%), Merck & Co Inc (-1.94%), Chevron Corp (-1.64%), Travelers Companies Inc (-1.37%) were the laggards.

Volume Movers

Top volume movers were Ford Motor Co (17.05M), Bank of America Corp (13.47M), AT&T Inc (12.71M), General Electric Co (11.58M), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (9.50M), Wells Fargo & Co (8.89M), American Airlines Group Inc (8.46M), Apple Inc (13.21M), Cisco Systems Inc (5.92M), Pieris Pharmaceuticals Inc (27.22M), Sundial Growers Inc (13.73M), Castor Maritime Inc (13.69M), Provention Bio Inc (9.32M), UP Fintech Holding Ltd (9.06M), Novan Inc (8.75M), Microsoft Corp (5.87M), Intel Corp (5.11M), and Verizon Communications Inc (3.56M).

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Futures & Commodities                                                   

Gold futures were up 0.82% to US$1,899.90 per ounce. Silver increased 0.76% to US$28.117 per ounce, while copper was down 0.34% to US$4.5103.

Brent oil futures rose slightly by 0.07% to US$68.42 per barrel and WTI crude was down 0.06% to US$66.01.

Bond Market

The 30-year Treasury bond yields were down 2.10% to 2.253, while the 10-year bond yields decreased 2.96% to 1.560.

US Dollar Futures Index was down 0.20% to US$89.655.