Ford, JetBlue Drop Sharply

Rising technology stocks sent the Nasdaq composite to a record on Tuesday, but trading was mixed along the rest of Wall Street.

• The S&P 500 rose 9.40 points, or 0.2%, to 5,832.92 , even though the majority of stocks in the index fell.
• The Dow Jones fell 154.52 points, or 0.4%, to 42,233.05.
• The Nasdaq composite rose 145.56 points, or 0.8%, to 18,712.75, topping the record it set in July.

Gains for Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and other influential Big Tech stocks helped lift indexes, the AP reports. Homebuilders and Ford Motor dropped to some of the sharpest losses following the latest profit reports.

Alphabet rose 1.8% ahead of its profit report, which was released after trading ended for the day. The parent company of Google rose almost 4% in extended trading after it announced that it earned $26.3 billion, or $2.12 per share, during the most recent quarter, a 34% increase from a year ago, reports the AP. Revenue rose 15% from the same time last year to $88.27 billion. Rivals like Microsoft and Nvidia were the strongest forces pushing the S&P 500 upward. They helped offset an 8.4% drop for Ford Motor, which said an underlying measure of profit for the full year will likely come in at the bottom end of its forecasted range due to stubbornly high warranty expenses and other costs.

JetBlue Airways lost 17.1% even though its results for the latest quarter were better than analysts expected. The carrier said its revenue could fall between 3% and 7% in the last three months of 2024 from a year earlier, hurt by this month's Hurricane Milton and the upcoming U.S. presidential election. DR Horton tumbled 7.3% after the homebuilder reported weaker profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Executive Chairman David Auld said some potential home buyers are waiting for mortgage rates to become more affordable and are sitting on the sidelines. DR Horton's results dragged down stocks of other homebuilders, and Lennar and PulteGroup both fell at least 2%.

story continues below

Trump Media & Technology Group climbed another 8.8% to $51.51 Tuesday. It was moving so sharply that trading of its stock was briefly halted several times during the day. The parent company of Trump's Truth Social platform has been rallying since hitting a bottom of roughly $12 in late September. (More stock market stories.)