The Dow was powered by gains in Caterpillar and Microsoft
U.S. stock-market indexes closed higher on Wednesday, 30 August 2017 with the benchmark S&P 500 posting gains for a fourth straight session after a pair of strong economic reports. Wednesday's advance was marked by bouts of volatility triggered by ongoing tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. Markets also watched President Donald Trump's speech on tax reform in Springfield.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped in and out of negative territory, ending slightly higher, up 27.06 points, or 0.1%, at 21,892.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index outperformed other benchmarks, closing up 66.42 points, or 1%, to 6,368.31. The S&P 500 index advanced 11.29 points, or 0.5%, to 2,457.59, with eight of the 11 main sectors ending in positive territory, led by technology.
The Dow was powered by gains in Caterpillar and Microsoft, both up 1.3%.
The U.S. Dollar Index climbed 0.6% on Wednesday after touching a multi-year low on Tuesday.
The greenback's closely followed index fell earlier this week to trade at its lowest levels since January 2015 as Hurricane Harvey's destruction in Texas came to light. A weaker greenback tends to boost commodities tied to the currency such as gold, as it becomes cheaper to buy for other currency holders.
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Among economic reports expected for the day at Wall Street, the ADP National Employment Report showed an increase of 237,000 in August (consensus 180,000) while the July reading was revised higher to 201,000 from 178,000.Separately, the second estimate of second quarter GDP pointed to an expansion of 3.0%, while the consensus expected a reading of 2.7%. The first estimate came in at 2.6% last month. The key takeaway from the report is that it was driven by a pickup in both consumer and business spending, which is typically a good mix for accelerating economic Another report showed that the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index dropped 2.3% to follow last week's 0.5% decrease.
Bullion metals ended lower at Comex on Wednesday, 30 August 2017. Gold retreated from its highest level in 11 months on Wednesday, as a stronger dollar and upbeat U.S. economic data prompted prices to snap a three-session streak of gains.
December gold fell $4.80, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,314.10 an ounce. The yellow metal had logged gains in each of the last three sessions as North Korean jitters and the still unfolding record-setting impact from Hurricane Harvey drove investors into haven assets, but two upbeat economic reports on Wednesday were seen as potentially giving the Federal Reserve cover to raise interest rates again this year. December silver fell 1.3 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $17.503 an ounce.
Crude-oil futures ended lower on Wednesday, 30 AUgust 2017 as gasoline prices rallied to a 2-year high, with traders expecting upcoming government reports to reveal the impact of Hurricane Harvey-related crude production and refinery shutdowns. Traders appeared unfazed by the latest data, mostly covering the time before Harvey hit the Texas Coast, which showed a sizable weekly drop in U.S. crude supplies and gasoline stockpiles that held steady last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, October West Texas Intermediate crude fell 48 cents, or 1%, to settle at $45.96 a barrel. Meanwhile, October Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $1.14, or 2.2%, to $50.86 a barrel.
The EIA said Wednesday that domestic crude supplies dropped by 5.4 million barrels for the week ended 25 August following declines in each of the last eight weeks. Market had produced a consensus forecast for a drop of 1.5 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles were unchanged for the week, while distillate stockpiles edged up by 700,000 barrels. The data on the products defied survey forecasts for a decline of 1.9 million barrels for gasoline and a fall of 600,000 barrels for distillates.
Crude-oil futures ended lower on Wednesday, 30 AUgust 2017 as gasoline prices rallied to a 2-year high, with traders expecting upcoming government reports to reveal the impact of Hurricane Harvey-related crude production and refinery shutdowns. Traders appeared unfazed by the latest data, mostly covering the time before Harvey hit the Texas Coast, which showed a sizable weekly drop in U.S. crude supplies and gasoline stockpiles that held steady last week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, October West Texas Intermediate crude fell 48 cents, or 1%, to settle at $45.96 a barrel. Meanwhile, October Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $1.14, or 2.2%, to $50.86 a barrel.
The EIA said Wednesday that domestic crude supplies dropped by 5.4 million barrels for the week ended 25 August following declines in each of the last eight weeks. Market had produced a consensus forecast for a drop of 1.5 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles were unchanged for the week, while distillate stockpiles edged up by 700,000 barrels. The data on the products defied survey forecasts for a decline of 1.9 million barrels for gasoline and a fall of 600,000 barrels for distillates.
Refinery shutdowns across Texas due to the weather system mean that crude inventories are likely to rise as refiners no longer have the capacity for further oil intake. That has weighed on crude prices, while gasoline and other refined product prices have soared on fears of fuel shortages across the country.
Among other energy products, September gasoline futures jumped 10.1 cents, or 5.7%, to $1.885 a gallon. September heating oil rose less than a cent to $1.674 a gallon.
In other energy trading, natural gas for October fell 4.4 cents, or 1.5% to $2.939 per million British thermal units.
In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries finished the midweek session on a flattish note with the benchmark 10-yr yield settling unchanged at 2.14%. Meanwhile, the 2-yr yield climbed one basis point to 1.33% after trading as high as 1.35% in the morning session.
On Thursday, investors will receive a slew of economic reports, including July Personal Income (consensus 0.3%), Personal Spending (consensus 0.4%), and core PCE Prices (consensus 0.1%) at 8:30 ET, Initial Claims (consensus 236K) also at 8:30 ET, August Chicago PMI (consensus 58.9) at 9:45 ET, and July Pending Home Sales (consensus 0.5%) at 10:00 ET.
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