Stocks Fairly Flat, Goldman Leads Banks Higher



Stocks closed along the flatline on Tuesday as interest rates touched their highest levels in months amid increasing prospects for more coronavirus stimulus under the incoming Biden administration.

The Dow Jones Industrials progressed 60 points to 31,068.69. Shares of Goldman Sachs rose 2.9% to lead the Dow higher. JPMorgan Chase added 1.6%, and Bank of America was up 1.8%. Charles Schwab gained 1.6% and hit an all-time high.

The S&P 500 eked ahead 1.58 points to 3,801.19.

The NASDAQ gained 36 points to 13,072.43. Losses from major tech companies kept Tuesday’s moves in check. Facebook fell 2.2%, and Alphabet slid 1.1%. Microsoft and Apple also lost more than 1%.

Last week, the major averages rallied to all-time highs as Wall Street shrugged off riots at the U.S. Capitol that led to the House Democrats introducing an article of impeachment on Monday against President Donald Trump for inciting the attack.

Since then, several social media companies have suspended or banned Trump from their platforms. In some cases, this has put pressure on their stocks. Twitter fell 2.4% on Tuesday, and is down 8.6% this week. Facebook has lost 6.2% week to date.

Prices for the 10-Year Treasury revived, lowering yields back to Monday’s 1.14%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices advanced 89 cents to $53.14 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices moved ahead $5.30 to $1,856.10 U.S. an ounce.