Nasdaq snags record high as Home Depot, Boeing dent the Dow

Retail earnings weigh on U.S. stocks

The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back from record highs on Tuesday as Home Depot weighed after delivering a disappointing forecast. Rival Lowe's fell in sympathy. The Nasdaq was the only one of the three major averages to finish in record territory. The S&P 500 slipped off its own record peak.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 37735.11 -248.13 -0.65%
SP500 S&P 500 5061.82 -61.59 -1.20%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 15885.018605 -290.08 -1.79%
HD THE HOME DEPOT INC. 337.93 -4.94 -1.44%
LOW LOWE'S COMPANIES INC. 230.01 -2.04 -0.88%

Shares of Dow component Boeing turned lower after the National Transportation Safety Board said the planemaker must redesign the engine cowl on all of its 737 NG planes -- a precursor to the 737 Max -- in response to the death of a passenger who was partially pulled through a broken window on Southwest Flight 1380 after a jet-turbine blade snapped, ripping off the cowl, in April 2018.

Boeing opened higher after receiving an order at the Dubai Air Show from Air Astana for 30 737 Max planes worth $3.6 billion and a separate order for 10 Max jets from an unnamed airline, according to a Reuters report.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
BA THE BOEING CO. 167.82 -1.73 -1.02%

Apple and Microsoft, the two biggest American companies by market capitalization, remained near record highs.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 413.64 -8.26 -1.96%
AAPL APPLE INC. 172.69 -3.86 -2.19%

Despite the mixed trading Tuesday, President Trump celebrated this year's stock market strength in a tweet.

In other news, tobacco-maker Altria dipped after New York Attorney General Letitia James slapped e-cigarette brand Juul Labs with a lawsuit on Tuesday that claimed deceptive marketing exacerbated the state’s “ongoing youth epidemic,” officials announced. Altria holds a 35 percent stake in the e-cigarette maker.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
MO ALTRIA GROUP INC. 40.95 -0.10 -0.24%

Elsewhere, Kohl's slashed its earnings outlook, sending shares sharply lower. The department store cut the top end of its full-year earnings forecast by 9 percent to $4.95 a share. Nordstrom and Macy's fell as a result.

Off-price retailer TJX, which operates stores including TJ Maxx and Home Goods, gained ground after reporting higher-than-expected revenue.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
KSS KOHL'S CORP. 22.23 -0.50 -2.20%
JWN NORDSTROM INC. 17.77 -1.29 -6.77%
M MACY'S INC. 18.89 -0.41 -2.12%
TJX THE TJX COS. INC. 92.98 -1.44 -1.53%

Commodities were mixed, with gold up 0.1 percent near $1,473 an ounce and West Texas Intermediate crude oil off 3.1 percent at $55.38 a barrel.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down 2.2 basis points at 1.786 percent.

Housing starts rose 3.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.31 million units, missing the 1.32 million that economists surveyed by Refinitiv were anticipating. Building permits climbed 5 percent to an annual rate of 1.46 million units in October, the highest since May 2007.

In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged 0.5 percent lower, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.6 percent, while the Shanghai Composite was up 0.9 percent.

The Chinese central bank cut the seven-day reverse repurchase rate to 2.5 percent from 2.55 percent, fueling expectations that Beijing will continue to ease monetary policy, according to Reuters.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Chinese indexes rose despite the continuing unrest in Hong Kong. Police have tightened their blockade of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where some protesters are trapped and hundreds who left have been arrested.

Police in riot gear move through a cloud of smoke as they detain a protester at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 18. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

In Europe, London's FTSE added 1.2 percent, Germany's DAX was higher by 1 percent and France's CAC was off 0.4 percent.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

FOX Business' Ken Martin and The Associated Press contributed to this article.