By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com -- The S&P 500 cut losses Tuesday, but struggled for direction as Treasury yields continued their march higher following the Bank of Japan's unexpected hawkish pivot.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%, or 74 points, the Nasdaq Composite was flat.
The Bank of Japan rattled investors overnight after announcing that it would allow 10-year Japanese government yields to rise as much as 50 basis points, or 0.5%. That was up from the previous 25 basis point cap, and signals the BoJ’s “first step toward tighter monetary policy by widening the target range for bond yield,” Commerzbank said in a note.
The surge in Japanese government bond yields pushed up yields on global bonds including Treasuries, keeping gains in rate-sensitive sectors like tech in check.
Rising energy stocks, however, helped steady the broader market higher as oil prices added to gains from a day earlier supported by a weaker dollar.
Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL), Schlumberger NV (NYSE:SLB) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) were among the biggest sector gainers.
On the earnings front, meanwhile, General Mills Inc (NYSE:GIS) lifted its guidance and delivered better-than-expected second-quarter results. Its stock, however, slipped 3%.
Consumer stocks were the biggest drag on the broader market with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) leading to the downside after Evercore ISI cut its price target on EV maker to $200 from $300 on concerns of further downside as the stock failed to hold above a key level of support.
Retailers including VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) and Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) were also under pressure as investors looked ahead to quarterly results from sportswear giant Nike (NYSE:NKE) - due after the closing bell - that could offer further clues on the strength of the consumer.
“[I]f they (Nike) signal that the worst is behind them regarding inventory/gross margin and China actually returns to growth (given what they're lapping), we think that's enough to move the stock higher,” Wedbush said in a note ahead of Nike’s quarterly earnings report.
In economic news, fresh housing data continued to show the pain from red-hot mortgage rates following the fast pace of Federal Reserve rate hikes this year.
Housing starts topped forecasts in November, but permits, a gauge of activity for future projects, fell to an 18-month low, fueling worries about further downside activity.
“With the November drop, permits are now below the level of starts, which is very rare and points to further downside for construction activity,” Jefferies said in a note.