Upbeat data on U.S. new-home sales boosts momentum
U.S. stocks closed in positive territory on Tuesday, 23 August 2016 but off the best levels of the session, after upbeat data on U.S. new-home sales and a stronger-than-expected gauge of European private-sector activity. The Nasdaq Composite briefly hit an all-time intraday high, while the S&P 500 flirted with its own intraday record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day with a gain of 17.88 points, or 0.1%, at 18,547.30. The S&P 500 index finished up 4.26 points, or 0.2%, at 2,186.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 15.47 points, or 0.3%, at 5,260.08.
Eight out of 10 S&P 500 sectors posted gains, led by a climb in materials shares
The stock market ended a relatively quiet session on a slightly higher note as an above-consensus reading of the New Home Sales Report for July and better-than-expected earnings results from the retail sub-group bolstered the broader market. Equity indices jumped at the start of the session as a strong performance from European bourses and a better-than-expected quarterly report from Best Buy bolstered the broader market.
Today's economic data was limited to the New Home Sales Report for July. New home sales increased 12.4% month-over-month in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000, which was well above the consensus estimate of 580,000 and up 31.3% from the same period a year ago. July 2016 marked the strongest pace of new home sales since October 2007.
In other economic data, a reading of manufacturing sentiment was softer in August after hitting its highest level in nine months in July. The flash manufacturing purchasing managers index from Markit fell to a reading of 52.1 this month from 52.9 in July.
Crude-oil futures reversed course to turn sharply higher after a report suggested that Iran might be willing to work with other major crude producers to cap output. West Texas Intermediate settled up 1.5% at $48.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after tapping lows under $47.
Treasuries ended on a flat note with yields relatively unchanged throughout the complex. The yield on the 10-yr note finished flat at 1.54%.
Today's participation was below the recent average as fewer than 716 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.
Tomorrow's economic data will include the weekly MBA Mortgage Index and the FHFA Housing Price Index for June, which will be released at 7:00 ET and 9:00 ET, respectively. The day's data will be capped off with the Existing Home Sales Report for July (consensus 5.54 million), crossing the wires at 10:00 ET.
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