The US stock market is holding relatively steady as both bond yields and bitcoin stabilise.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent, coming off its first loss in six days. The Dow Jones was up 116 points, or 0.2 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3 per cent higher.
Wall Street is higher, a day after its first losing session in six days.Credit: AP
The Australian sharemarket is set for a flat start, with futures pointing to a loss of 1 point at the open. The ASX added 0.2 per cent on Tuesday.
MongoDB helped lead the market and jumped 23.2 per cent after the database company delivered stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. United Natural Foods also climbed after reporting a stronger profit than expected, and it rose 9.2 per cent.
They helped offset a 5.4 per cent drop for Signet Jewellers, which gave a forecast for revenue in the holiday shopping season that fell short of analysts’ expectations. The jeweller said it’s expecting “a measured consumer environment.”
Another potential warning about US shoppers’ strength came from the chief financial officer of Procter & Gamble, the giant behind Tide detergent, Ivory soap and Oral-B toothbrushes. Andre Schulten said the landscape for US consumers is “volatile” at the moment, though still within the company’s expectations. Procter & Gamble fell 2.9 per cent.
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The US economy has been holding up overall, but that’s masking sharp divisions beneath the surface. Lower-income households are struggling with inflation that’s still higher than anyone would like. Richer households, meanwhile, are benefiting from a stock market that’s within 1 per cent of its all-time high set in late October.
In the bond market, Treasury yields were calming following their jumps the day before. The 10-year yield was holding at 4.09 per cent, where it was late on Monday, while the two-year yield eased to 3.51 per cent from 3.54 per cent.
