Global stocks mostly rise after Big Tech pulls S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower

European markets opened higher while Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to an all-time high and Big Tech companies pulled the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite lower.

Germany’s DAX picked up 0.3% to 18,665.08 after data from the statistics office on Tuesday showed the country’s second-quarter gross domestic product fell by 0.1% from the previous quarter.

The CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.3% to 7,615.78. In London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.7% to 8,382.27. The future for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were both up 0.1%.

Oil prices eased from their recent highs. China’s industrial profits jumped 4.1% in July compared to the previous year, with overall profits for the first seven months increasing 3.6%, bringing hopes to the market amid sluggish domestic demand, a housing downturn and employment worries.

But additional tariffs on China are clouding its manufacturing prospects. Canada announced a 100% tariff on the import of Chinese electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum on Monday, with the measures set to take effect on Oct. 1. This will apply to all EVs shipped from China, many of which are Tesla cars produced in the country.

The automaker company’s U.S.-listed shares fell 3.2% Monday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.4% to 17,874.67 and the Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.2% to 2,848.73.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 closed 0.5% higher at 38,288.62. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.2% to 8,071.20. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.3% to 2,689.15.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% Monday, remaining within 0.9% of its record set in July. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.9%, pulled down by several technology companies that tend to tip the market because of their big values. Nvidia lost 2.2%, Microsoft fell 0.8%, Amazon dropped 0.9%, Meta Platforms slid 1.3% and Tesla lost 3.2%.

The Dow rose 0.2%, to 41,240, eclipsing its previous high set in mid-July. The average is less influenced by Big Tech, with only Apple and Microsoft among the most valuable “Magnificent Seven” stocks in the index. That helped limit the impact of the Big Tech decliners.

Bond yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.82% from 3.80% late Friday.

The stock market is coming off a two-week winning streak that’s helped keep the S&P 500 and Dow within striking distance of notching new highs. Monday’s mixed market finish came at the start of a week featuring another full slate of corporate earnings and the government’s latest inflation reading.

A surprisingly good report showed that orders for long-lasting goods from US factories, including cars, jumped 9.9% in July. An update on consumer confidence is on tap for Tuesday and the U.S. will provide a revised estimate on Thursday of economic growth during the second quarter.

Semiconductor company Nvidia reports its latest financial results on Wednesday. It has been a big beneficiary of Wall Street’s mania around artificial intelligence, becoming one of the stock market’s most massive companies, with a total value topping $3 trillion. The stock is up more than 155% for the year.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 17.77 points to 5,616.84. The Dow rose 65.44 points to 41,240.52, and the Nasdaq dropped 152.03 points to close at 17,725.77.

The key report for investors this week will come on Friday, when the the government serves up its latest data on inflation with the PCE, or personal consumption and expenditures report, for July. It is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 48 cents to $76.94 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 25 cents to $80.11 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 145.01 Japanese yen from 144.52 yen. The euro cost $1.1172, up from $1.1161.

Copper prices rose to their highest in nearly six weeks on Tuesday, with buying triggered by expectations of an imminent interest rate cut in the United States, a weaker dollar and signs of improving demand in top consumer China.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 1.1% at $9,389 a metric ton by 0954 GMT after touching $9,418 for the highest level since July 18.

Interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve would boost U.S. growth and demand but would also apply pressure on the nation’s currency, making dollar-priced metals cheaper for holders of other currencies. The Fed meets over Sept. 17-18.

Macroeconomic factors are still a major influence on copper, one metals trader said, adding that declines in Shanghai copper stocks suggest that Chinese demand is picking up.

Copper stocks in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) have dropped 25% since early June to 251,062 tons, their lowest since March.

Also suggesting more robust copper demand in China is the Yangshan premium , a closely watched indicator of China’s import appetite. The premium is now around $53 a ton, having been at a discount in July.

Traders said that a breach of the 50-day moving average around $9,380 also spurred some buying.

Elsewhere, expectations of tighter aluminium supplies have reduced the discount on the cash contract over the three-month contract to about $5 a ton from $65 in late July.

Traders said that supply tightness is particularly acute for the October-November period, reversing the discount into a premium.

Three-month aluminium was down 0.9% at $2,519 a ton.

Zinc, meanwhile, touched $2,940.50 a ton, up 15% since Aug. 7 on concern about supplies after 14 large smelters agreed to cut production in response to profit-sapping declines in treatment charges. It was last up 0.6% at $2,931.

In other metals, lead slipped 0.3% to $2,110 a ton, tin was up 0.2% at $32,905 and nickel advanced 1.4% to $16,990.

Agencies