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Wall Street ticks lower in front of possible market-moving events
30-Jul-19 16:15 ET
Dow -23.33 at 27198.02, Nasdaq -19.71 at 8273.62, S&P -7.79 at 3013.18

https://www.briefing.com/investor/markets/stock-market-update/2019/7/30/wall-street-ticks-lower-in-front-of-possible-marketmoving-events-.htm

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market wavered mostly in negative territory on Tuesday, leaving the S&P 500 (-0.3%), Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.1%), and Nasdaq Composite (-0.2%) with slight losses. There weren't too many positive catalysts for the broader market, but the small-cap Russell 2000 did advance 1.1% to finish near session highs.

The S&P 500's worst levels of the day came shortly after the open, as investors appeared uninterested to participate in the action in front of Apple's (AAPL 208.78, -0.90, -0.4%) earnings report after the close and the FOMC's rate decision tomorrow. President Trump alleging that China has yet to buy U.S. agricultural products added to the negative tone.

Still, aside from some profit taking in hot-flying stocks like Beyond Meat (BYND 194.76, -27.37, -12.3%) and Under Armour (UAA 24.08, -3.36, -12.2%) following their earnings reports, there was no serious interest to withdraw from the broader market. At its low, the S&P 500 was down 0.7% and hanging just above the 3000 level, where it would firmly stay above the rest of the day.

The final standings reflected a mixed session with five S&P 500 sectors finishing higher and six sectors finishing lower. The utilities (-0.8%), information technology (-0.7%), and consumer discretionary (-0.7%) sectors underperformed, while the energy (+1.1%), real estate (+0.9%), and materials (+0.6%) sectors finished on top.

Energy stocks gained traction as oil prices ($58.05, +1.18, +2.1%) made a big move in the afternoon on no confirmed news catalyst. The noticeable gain today could have been derived from speculation that the Fed's expected rate cut tomorrow could increase demand for oil.

In other corporate news, Procter & Gamble (PG 120.41, +4.41, +3.8%) and Merck (MRK 83.27, +0.78, +1.0%) pleased investors with their earnings results. Pfizer (PFE 38.79, -2.66) fell 6.4% after the stock was downgraded at both Bank of America/Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. Capital One (COF 91.21, -5.71) fell 5.9% after disclosing a data breach that affected over 100 million customers.

U.S. Treasuries finished slightly lower in another muted session. The 2-yr yield and the 10-yr yield increased one basis point each to 1.85% and 2.06%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index finished unchanged at 98.05.

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data, which included the Personal Income and Spending Report for June, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for July, the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for May, and Pending Home Sales for June:

Personal income increased 0.4% (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%) while personal spending rose 0.3% (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) m/m in June. The PCE Price Index was up 0.1%, as expected, and the core PCE price Index, which excludes food and energy, jumped 0.2%, also as expected. On a yr/yr basis, the PCE Price Index held steady at 1.4% while the core PCE Price Index edged up to 1.6% from 1.5% in May.
The key takeaway from the report is that it contained decent consumer data and tame inflation data, which is not all that surprising relative to recent data seen of late.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index surged to 135.7 in July (Briefing.com consensus 125.5) from an upwardly revised 124.3 (from 121.5) in June. That is the highest reading since November 2018 and the third-highest reading since October 2000.
The key takeaway from the report is that consumers are optimistic about current and prospective business and labor market conditions, and have improved expectations for their financial outlook. That is a supportive combination that will encourage increased consumer spending activity.
The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for May increased 2.4% (Briefing.com consensus 3.5%) after increasing 2.5% in April.
Pending Home Sales increased 1.6% in June (Briefing.com consensus +1.0%). Today's reading follows an unrevised increase of 1.1% in May.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the FOMC rate decision, the ADP Employment Change report for July, the Chicago PMI for July, the Employment Cost Index for the second quarter, and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index on Wednesday.

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