Technology sector led gains and telecommunications fell the hardest
US stocks ended near unchanged mark at Wall Street on Tuesday, 30 July 2013. Indices ended in a mixed mode with the Dow registering minor losses for the day. Indices saw pressure as selling intensified during afternoon action, sending the Dow into the red as participants displayed caution ahead of tomorrow's advance second quarter GDP report and the latest policy statement from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended off 1.38 points at 15,520.59. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 17.33 points, or 0.5%, to 3,616.47. The S&P 500 index advanced nearly 1 point to 1,685.96.
Technology sector led gains and telecommunications fell the hardest on a sectoral basis. In addition to technology, industrials and utilities spent the entire day in positive territory.
Among economic data expected for the day, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index weakened a bit in July, dropping from an upwardly revised 82.1 (from 81.4) in June to 80.3. The consensus pegged the index at 81.6. The slight dip in confidence does not change the overall picture of an improving consumer base. The index likely fell back due to normal volatility after reaching a 5-year high in June. Furthermore, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index spiked to its highest level since 2007 in July, signaling that the drop in confidence was likely a non-event.
Separately, the May Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index rose 12.2% while a 10.5% increase had been expected by the consensus. This followed the previous month's increase of 12.1%.
Among major stocks under focus, Pfizer rose 0.4% after the drug maker and Dow component posted second-quarter results. Sprint rose 7.3% after the telecommunications firm posted a larger quarterly loss but revenue expanded as consumers spent more on mobile services. Facebook gained 6.2% after the social-networking company announced the launch of a mobile-games unit.
Sep crude oil fell deeper into negative territory as it was pressured by a stronger dollar index. The energy component retreated from its session high of $103.95 per barrel and settled 1.4% lower at $103.09 per barrel. Sep natural gas reversed back into negative territory after touching a session high of $3.49 per MMBtu in early morning pit action. It closed 1.2% lower at $3.43 per MMBtu, just above its session low of $3.42 per MMBtu.
Precious metals also traded in the red today. Aug gold touched a session high of $1328.30 per ounce but slid to a session low of $1316.20 per ounce moments after equity markets opened. It managed to erase some of the loss and settled at $1323.70 per ounce, or 0.4% lower. Sep silver brushed a session high of $19.84 per ounce in early morning action but pulled-back slightly as the session progressed. It settled at $19.67 per ounce, booking a loss of 1.0%.
Indian ADRs ended mostly lower on Tuesday. In the IT space, Infosys was down 0.2% and Wipro was up 0.8%. In the Banking space, HDFC Bank was down 4.8% and ICICI Bank was down 3.5%. In other space, Tata Motors was down 4.4%, and Sterlite was down 2.9%.
Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be reported at 7:00 ET and the July ADP Employment Change will be released at 8:15 ET. Second quarter GDP will be reported at 8:30 ET and the July Chicago PMI will cross the wires at 9:45 ET. The day will be topped off with the 14:00 ET release of the latest policy statement from the Federal Open Market Committee.
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