US equity indexes reached new all-time highs intraday Tuesday as large technology stocks drove gains even as government bond yields declined. After midday, the Nasdaq Composite stood at 27,639.2, up 0.6%. The S&P 500 recorded a 0.7% increase to finish at 7,826.5, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5% to reach 51,541.9. According to data compiled by Finviz, nine of the top ten stocks by market capitalization were technology names. Marvell Technology, GE Vernova, and Dell Technologies led the gainers among mega-cap stocks, each rising by at least 4.5%.
Consumer sentiment showed early signs of improvement in October. The RealClearMarkets monthly index rose to 46.8 from 45.6 in September, driven by increases in all three of its components. A reading above 50 indicates optimism, while a reading below 50 suggests pessimism. Retail sales also strengthened, with Redbook US same-store sales rising 8.6% from a year earlier in the week ended Oct. 3, up from an 8.2% year-over-year increase in the previous week.
In the bond market, US Treasury yields fell across the curve. The 30-year rate declined 1.8 basis points to 5.65%, while the 10-year yield dropped 3.4 basis points to 5.27%. The 2-year yield slid 3.3 basis points to 4.80%. President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Monday to temporarily allow tax-exempt red-dyed diesel on highways, aiming to lower near-record diesel prices caused by refinery damage and tight crude supplies.
Oil markets reflected shifting supply dynamics in the Persian Gulf. A note from Macquarie indicated a sharp bounce-back in oil supplies occurring simultaneously with an effective blockade of Iranian crude exports. Thierry Wizman, global foreign-exchange and rates strategist at Macquarie, stated that much of the recovery is taking place via bypass routes to the Gulf of Oman or through new capacity in the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline. He added that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has also risen as more tankers hug the Omani coast. The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract edged up less than 0.2% to $89.60 per barrel, while North Sea Brent futures remained little changed at $100.36 per barrel.
Trade data showed the US international trade deficit widened to $105.57 billion in August from $92.83 billion in July, exceeding the $102.1 billion gap expected in a Bloomberg survey. Imports rose more than exports, contributing to the widening deficit.
In corporate news, Constellation Energy and Alphabet's Google announced a 20-year deal to add 890 megawatts of nuclear power to the PJM interconnection grid. Constellation shares surged 15%, making it the top gainer on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Conversely, Seagate Technology shares slumped 9%, the steepest decline on both indexes, after Bloomberg reported that Seagate and Toshiba are competing to acquire TDK's magnetic-head business for hard-disk drives in a deal worth several billion dollars.