Stock Market Today: Dow Gains on Strong Caterpillar Earnings

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Stocks were choppy Tuesday ahead of some high-profile earnings due out later this week and the July jobs report, set for release early Friday. Today, though, Wall Street weighed data from the manufacturing sector and the labor market, as well as solid earnings from blue chip stock Caterpillar (CAT).

Shortly after the opening bell rang, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its manufacturing index rose to 46.4% in July from June's reading of 46.0%. Still, this marked the ninth straight month the index has stayed in contraction territory. The ISM's employment index, which reflects employment changes in industrial companies, also remained in contraction territory, at 44.4%.

"This morning’s economic data reports reflected continued weakness in manufacturing alongside a persistent need for workers across most sectors," says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.

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Meanwhile, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed the number of job openings slipped to 9.58 million in June from 9.62 million in May, its lowest level in two years. Additionally, both the hiring and quits rates eased on a month-over-month basis.

"Looking ahead to Friday’s employment report, investors should expect further slowing in hiring," says Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial. "Easing inflation and slower hiring puts the Fed in a good spot to pause at their September meeting."

Earnings boost Caterpillar, drop Uber

In single-stock news, Caterpillar surged 8.9% after the world's largest maker of heavy construction and mining equipment reported a big second-quarter beat. Specifically, CAT, whose results are often seen as a bellwether for the global economy, said earnings jumped to $5.55 per share from $3.18 per share in Q2 2022, while revenue surged 22% to $17.3 billion.

Uber Technologies (UBER) was another stock that made a big move after earnings, only shares fell 5.7% in reaction to the ride-sharing firm's results. In the second quarter, UBER swung to a profit of 18 cents per share from a year-ago loss of $1.33 per share, beating analysts' estimate. However, revenue of $9.2 billion fell short of the $9.3 billion Wall Street was expecting.

Coinbase tumbles after Terraform court ruling

Elsewhere, Coinbase Global (COIN) tumbled 4.5% after a judge on Monday ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can go ahead with its fraud lawsuit against Terraform Labs, which created the Terra blockchain platform. The outcome of the case could have implications for COIN, which was sued by the SEC in June amid a broader crackdown on the crypto industry.

As for the major indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 35,630, while the S&P 500 (-0.3% to 4,576) and the Nasdaq Composite (-0.4% to 14,283) both ended in the red.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.