US close: Stocks mixed ahead of presidential debate

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday following big wins for major indices in the previous session. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.23% at 40,736.96, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.45% to 5,495.52 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.84% firmer at 17,025.88.

The Dow closed 92.63 points lower on Tuesday, taking a bite out of gains recorded on Monday.

In focus on Tuesday, on the macro front, the National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism index decreased to 91.2 in August, the lowest reading in three months, down from 93.7 in July and significantly less than the 93.6 reading expected by economists.

"Historically high inflation remains the top issue for owners as sales expectations plummet and cost pressures increase. Uncertainty among small business owners continues to rise as expectations for future business conditions worsen", said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg.

The presidential debate between vice president Kamala Harris and former White House resident Donald Trump will also draw an amount of investor attention, with the two set to duke it out at 0200 BST.

In the corporate space, cloud computing giant Oracle shares rallied after posting Q1 results that topped expectations on the Street, while Apple traded lower as news that it had lost a €13.0bn EU tax case overshadowed the unveiling of its new iPhone handsets.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.65 2.15% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $414.21 2.09% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $78.81 1.90% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $370.92 1.46% 3M Co. (MMM) $129.99 1.27% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $177.88 0.98% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $328.93 0.92% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $205.38 0.88% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $599.02 0.83% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $167.38 0.46%

Dow Jones - Fallers

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $205.56 -5.19% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $467.13 -4.39% American Express Co. (AXP) $245.42 -2.19% Nike Inc. (NKE) $78.13 -1.76% Boeing Co. (BA) $160.07 -1.74% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $138.23 -1.48% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $50.82 -0.94% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $238.94 -0.93% Intel Corp. (INTC) $18.98 -0.47% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.58 -0.42%

S&P 500 - Risers

Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $155.89 11.44% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $148.11 5.18% Digital Realty Trust (DLR) $156.79 4.97% Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) $864.78 3.96% Comerica Inc. (CMA) $57.31 3.54% Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $114.03 3.42% Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $142.84 3.39% Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $495.95 3.25% Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.22 2.97% Rollins Inc. (ROL) $51.13 2.96%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $47.88 -11.15% Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $6.49 -9.61% Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $6.80 -8.71% Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $16.10 -8.52% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $5.36 -5.63% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $205.56 -5.19% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $467.13 -4.39% Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $171.49 -4.31% Apache Corp. (APA) $23.85 -4.27% Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $34.90 -4.20%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $27.38 925.47% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $148.11 5.18% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $226.17 4.58% Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $495.95 3.25% Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $81.44 2.87% Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $227.02 2.55% Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $179.55 2.37% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $414.21 2.09% Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $817.07 1.53% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $108.10 1.53%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $65.39 -3.01% American Airlines Group (AAL) $10.99 -2.05% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $75.35 -2.03% Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $373.88 -2.02% Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $67.55 -1.95% Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $9.84 -1.60% Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $39.13 -1.49% Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $35.52 -1.47% NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $76.42 -1.47% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $131.10 -1.32%