US stocks beat early retreat as investors weigh up earnings, more M&A action

10.05am: Early progress dull US markets opened higher on Tuesday but then soon fell back as investors digested a mixed bag of corporate news and further M&A action. After half an hour of trading, the Dow Jones Industrials Average was down 73 points, or 0.2% at 34,763, while the broader-based S&P 500 shed 0.5% and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%  On the up, however. PepsiCo Inc shares were 0.3% firmer after the company agreed to sell stakes in some of its juice brands, including Tropicana and Naked. 7.45am: Gains predicted US stocks look set for a strong open on Tuesday recovering after a wobbly showing at the start of the week ahead of a busy day for corporate news and earnings, The Dow Jones Industrials Average is expected to open 156 points higher at 34,994; the S&P 500 is tipped to rise 16 points while the Nasdaq 100 is on track to advance 18 points to 14,982. That has not stopped some pundits from wondering whether US markets are getting a bit “toppy”. “We see the potential for the rally in cyclical stocks to continue, although prevailing valuations and the pattern of past recoveries suggest to us the next leg of any upcycle may favour names with higher quality business models. Now is not the time for value investors to forget the lessons of the past decade and a half – when a wave of technological innovation disrupted many traditional industries,” suggested Mark Finn, the portfolio manager of the T Rowe Price US Large Cap Value Equity Fund. Jacob Mitchell, portfolio manager of the Antipodes Global Fund – UCITS, and the chief investment officer of Antipodes Partners, noted that US equities have never been more expensive in the last 25 years, “both in a relative and absolute sense”. “Today, the rest of the world is valued at a 40% discount to US equities – and this discount is as extreme as it has been in 25 years but a new capex [capital expenditure]cycle evens out the playing field,” Mitchell suggested. “Given the US is home to big cap tech, secular trends around software and the internet have disproportionately benefited US equities – whereas emerging investment cycles around decarbonisation and investment will benefit companies globally, not just in the US. This extraordinary premium for US equities is unlikely to be as sustainable as many believe,” he warned. It’s a relatively quiet day on the macro front in the US today, with factory orders for June expected to rise 1.0% after advancing 1.7% in May. Vehicle sales for July should, according to Daiwa America’s Mike Moran, show a “small pick-up” to around 15.6mln units on an annualised basis. Six things to watch on Tuesday: PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) Inc has unveiled the $3.3 billion sale of its Tropicana and other juice brands in North America to French private equity firm PAI Partners, as it looks to simplify its product range and move away from high-sugar drinks. France’s Sanofi has agreed to buy US biotech company Translate Bio in a $3.2 billion deal, as it bets on next-generation mRNA vaccine technology beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. US drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) fell short of quarterly profit expectations as persistent regulatory actions in the United States and lower demand hurt sales of its COVID-19 therapies Hotel operator Marriott International (NYSE:MAR) Inc beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit as a recovery in travel began to aid a battered global tourist industry. Energy giant Conoco Phillips posted a second-quarter profit that nearly doubled from the first and topped analysts estimates, helped by higher oil and gas prices and production. China's Tencent Holdings Ltd said it would further curb minors' access to its flagship video game, hours after its shares were battered by a state media article that described online games as "spiritual opium".