UPS Slumps 8.2% Despite Strong Profits

Stocks drifted through a quiet day Tuesday and held near their record heights following a mixed set of profit reports.

• The S&P 500 slipped 2.96 points, or 0.1%, from its record to 4,924.97
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 133.86, or 0.3%, to 38,467.31, an all-time high.
• The Nasdaq composite fell 118.15, or 0.8%, to 15,509.90.

UPS slumped 8.2% even though it reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its revenue fell short of Wall Street's estimates, and it also gave a forecast for full-year revenue in 2024 that was weaker than expected.

Whirlpool sank 6.6% despite likewise reporting a better profit than expected. Its forecast for 2024 revenue of $16.9 billion was roughly $1 billion below analysts' estimates. Helping to offset those losses was General Motors. The automaker jumped 7.8% after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected, the AP reports. JetBlue Airways sank 4.7% despite reporting a milder loss for the last three months of 2023 than analysts expected. It said it expects revenue to be roughly flat in 2024, while its cost pressures outside of fuel will likely rise.

Treasury yields were mixed in the bond market and erased earlier losses after a report suggested the job market may be warmer than economists expected. US employers advertised 9 million job openings at the end of December, which was a touch more than economists expected and slightly above November's level. Traders were hoping the data would show a cooldown in the number of openings. That would have fit more neatly into the trend that's sent Wall Street to a record: a slowdown in the economy's growth strong enough to keep a lid on inflation but not so much that it will create a recession. (More stock market stories.)