The Nasdaq Composite narrowly logges its second record close of 2016
US stock market ended the Tuesday affair on a flat note on 09 August 2016 as the Nasdaq settled ahead of the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The major averages ended relatively unchanged as a downturn in crude oil and weakness in the consumer discretionary space prevented the market from vaulting higher. Other contributing factors impacting today's trade included softening in the dollar and sector leadership from heavily-weighted technology and health care.
The Nasdaq Composite narrowly logged its second record close of 2016 on Tuesday, as losses in oil prices and weak productivity data all but erased gains for the broad benchmarks. The S&P 500 index ended up less than a point at 2,181.74, after setting a record high of 2,187.69 earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 3.76 points, or less than 0.1%, at 18,533, supported by gains for Walt Disney Company and Pfizer but weighed down by a decline in DuPont. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12.34 points, or 0.2%, to 5,225.48an all-time closing high.
Gains in health-care and consumer-staples stocks were offset by losses in energy and materials sectors, weighed down by the drop in oil prices.
The major averages began the day on a higher note as investors responded to a positive bias in global markets and a mixed set of economic data. The preliminary reading of the second quarter productivity report missed expectations as unit labor costs and productivity each disappointed. Conversely, wholesale inventories for June beat estimates while the May reading featured a positive revision. Wall Street struggled to shrug off a weaker-than-expected report on U.S. productivity, which has now declined in three straight quarters. Second-quarter productivity unexpectedly fell 0.5%, well below expectations.
A flurry of data released on Tuesday painted a mixed picture of the U.S. economy. Wholesale inventories rose a revised 0.3% in June, up from the initial estimate of no change, suggesting that inventories might not be as big a drag on second-quarter growth as initially estimated. The NFIB small-business index for July rose 0.1 point to 94.6, continuing a winning streak that began after it touched a two-year low.
Also Read
There are no Federal Reserve speakers this week. The next big event for the central bank will be Chairwoman Janet Yellen's appearance at the Jackson Hole conference on 26 August 2016.
Crude oil futures pulled back from a two-week high on Tuesday, 09 AUgust 2016 to settle modestly lower as traders weighed continued concerns about a global supply glut versus prospects for an agreement by major producers to curb output.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude futures for delivery in September fell 25 cents, or 0.6%, to close at $42.77 a barrel. October Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange lost 41 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $44.94 a barrel.
Oil flipped between gains and losses in a choppy session, but were dragged lower around midday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in its monthly short-term energy outlook, said it expects U.S. crude oil production to decline to 8.73 million barrels a day in 2016 from 9.43 million barrels in 2015. In July, the agency had forecast 2016 production of 8.61 million barrels. The change comes amid an uptick in the number of domestic rigs drilling for crude oil.
Gold prices closed up modestly on Tuesday, 09 August 2016 as weakness in the U.S. dollar delivered a boost to the yellow metal.
December gold rose $5.40, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,346.70 an ounce, ending two consecutive sessions of losses for gold. Silver futures for September delivery climbed 6 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $19.85 an ounce. Gold prices have been subdued since last week's stronger-than-expected July jobs report pushed down precious metals prices as expectations for a U.S. interest-rate hike in 2016 increased. So far this month, gold futures are off about 0.8%, but year to date are up 27%, underpinned by global economic uncertainty and bets that the rates will stay lower for longer.
Treasuries enjoyed a healthy bid throughout today's session as yields slid throughout the complex. The yield on the 10-yr note ended lower by five basis points at 1.54%.
Today's participation was below the recent average as fewer than 731 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.
Tomorrow's economic data will include the weekly MBA Mortgage Index, which will be released at 7:00 ET. Separately, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for June and the Treasury Budget for July will cross the wires at 10:00 ET and 14:00 ET, respectively.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News