Roundup: Wall Street ends mixed, Nasdaq hits 12-year high ahead of Fed statement
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Xinhua, July 31, 2013
The U.S. stocks closed mixed after choppy trading on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index refreshing a 12-year high, as investors awaited the result of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting and U.S. home prices in May logged the biggest increase in over seven years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 1.38 points, or 0. 01 percent, to 15,520.59 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.63 points, or 0.04 percent, to 1,685.96 points. The Nasdaq was up 17.33 points, or 0.48 percent, to 3,616.47 points.
The market opened higher on the strong housing data. U.S. home prices continued to increase in May, according to a report released on Tuesday by S&P Dow Jones Indices. The 10- and 20-City Composites annual returns rose slightly from April to May as they posted the best year-over-year gains since March 2006.
"House price increases moderated more than expected in May. Still, the year-on-year increase was the biggest in seven years. House prices have benefited from stronger sales and tighter supply this year and should continue to rise, though at a moderating pace as higher mortgage rates crimp demand," FTN Financial Chief Economist Christopher Low said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. consumer confidence pulled back slightly in July to 80.3, as against 82.1 in June, according to the Conference Board, a global, independent business membership and research association. Despite the mild drop, the index remained near its five-year high.
However, the market experienced seesaw trading in most of the session, as investors turned cautious ahead of the Fed policy decisions and a couple of key economic data.
The U.S. central bank began its two-day policy meeting starting on Tuesday. Economists have expected the Fed to keep its massive monthly asset purchases unchanged, but investors are closely watching the meeting for some clues about when the Fed will start to trim its monetary stimulus programs.
Meanwhile, the second-quarter U.S. gross domestic product figure is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, and the July nonfarm payrolls report is due on Friday.
In corporate news, shares of Dow component Pfizer Inc. rose 0. 44 percent to 29.67 dollars apiece, after the largest U.S. drugmaker posted slightly better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq outperformed the other two stock indices, mainly thanks to Facebook and Apple. Facebook shares leapt 6.20 percent to 37.63 dollars, nearing its Initial Public Offerings price of 38 dollars. Apple shares also rallied 1.23 percent to 453. 32 dollars.
Among major S&P 500 sectors, techs led the gains while telecoms dragged. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered as a fear gauge of the market, finished unchanged at 13.39.
In overseas markets, European stocks rose across-the-board as research institute GfK said that German consumer sentiment indicator rose for the seventh straight month. In other markets, oil prices slipped on Tuesday on fears that U.S. economic growth may slow down in the second quarter of the year. Light, sweet crude for September delivery went down 1.47 dollars to settle at 103.08 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for September delivery fell 54 cents to close at 106.91 dollars a barrel.
Gold future for December delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 4.8 dollars to settle at 1,324.8 dollars per ounce on a strong dollar on Tuesday.
The U.S. dollar advanced against most of major currencies on Tuesday before Fed announcement and U.S. growth data. In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.3264 dollars from 1.3267 dollars of the previous session and the dollar bought 97.97 Japanese yen, higher than 97.88 yen of the previous session. Endite
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)