Financial Markets                      10/22 15:23

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock indexes barely budged after a quiet day of mixed 
trading on Tuesday.

   The S&P 500 edged down by less than 0.1%. It was a tiny loss, but it still 
marked the first back-to-back drop for the index in a month and a half. The 
index fell modestly on Monday after coming off a sixth straight winning week, 
its longest such streak of the year.

   The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 6 points, or less than 0.1%. Like 
the S&P 500, it's been on a long, record-breaking rally and set its all-time 
high on Friday. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%.

   General Motors jumped 10.4% for its best day since 2020 after delivering 
stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It 
benefited from stronger sales to individual U.S. customers, even as sales 
slowed to large fleet buyers.

   Philip Morris International was another one of the strongest forces pushing 
upward on the S&P 500 and rallied 10.5% after topping forecasts for both profit 
and revenue. CEO Jacek Olczak said the company is seeing momentum across 
regions and business lines, including growth for both its smoke-free business 
and for its combustible cigarettes.

   Norfolk Southern climbed 4.9% after the railroad topped analysts' forecasts 
for profit.

   Keeping indexes in check was GE Aerospace, which tumbled 9% and was the 
heaviest weight on the S&P 500. The company, which began trading independently 
this spring after splitting off from the former conglomerate General Electric, 
reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but its 
revenue fell short of forecasts.

   Verizon Communications sank 5% after likewise reporting weaker revenue for 
the latest quarter than expected, even though its profit edged past forecasts.

   Genuine Parts, which sells automotive and industrial replacement parts, 
dropped 21% for the largest loss in the S&P 500 after its profit for the latest 
quarter fell well short of expectations. CEO Will Stengel said much of the 
shortfall was due to continued weakness in Europe and its industrial business.

   Sherwin-Williams sank 5.3% after both its profit and revenue came in weaker 
than analysts expected. CEO Heidi Petz cited a "tough macroeconomic 
environment" and "continued choppiness in the demand environment" for its 
paints and coatings. Demand from do-it-yourself customers in North America 
remains weak given the higher debt levels that they're carrying and 
still-lingering inflation.

   All told, the S&P 500 slipped 2.78 points to 5,851.20. The Dow dipped 6.71 
to 42,924.89, and the Nasdaq composite rose 33.12 to 18,573.13.

   Stocks have slowed their record-breaking momentum this week under increasing 
pressure from rising Treasury yields in the bond market.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 4.20%, where it was late 
Monday. That's well above the 4.08% level it was at just on Friday. Higher 
yields for Treasurys can make investors less willing to pay high prices for 
stocks, which critics say already look too expensive.

   Treasury yields have been climbing following a raft of reports showing the 
U.S. economy remains stronger than expected. That's good news for Wall Street, 
because it bolsters hopes that the economy can escape from the worst inflation 
in generations without the painful recession that many had worried was 
inevitable.

   "What appears to be unfolding before our eyes is a soft-landing scenario 
only the most optimistic dream of," according to Gregory Daco, EY chief 
economist.

   But it also is forcing traders on Wall Street to ratchet back expectations 
for how much the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. The central bank has 
made the drastic shift to lowering interest rates in hopes of keeping the 
economy strong, but a more resilient-than-expected economy wouldn't need as 
much help.

   Traders are now largely expecting the Fed to cut its main interest rate by 
half a percentage point more through the end of the year, according to data 
from CME Group. A month ago, some of those same traders were betting on the 
federal funds rate ending the year as much as half a percentage point lower 
than that.

   In stock markets abroad, European indexes were modestly lower despite German 
software giant SAP nudging past profit expectations. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 
225 dropped 1.4%, and South Korea's Kospi fell 1.3%, but indexes were more 
resilient in China.

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   AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

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