US close: Mixed session following weak consumer sentiment data

Wall Street stocks turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday as signs of potential progress in trade talks between the US and China where offset by some weaker-than-expected consumer confidence data.

At the close, the Dow Jones Jones Industrial Average was down 0.21% at 28,248.44, while the S&P 500 was 0.36% higher at 3,443.62 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.76% firmer at 11,466.47.

The Dow closed 60.02 points lower on Tuesday, cutting into gains recorded yesterday after the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorisation for convalescent plasma on Covid-19 patients.

Sentiment was initially lifted on reports that US and Chinese officials indicated progress in resolving concerns around their "phase one" trade deal reached between the two countries in January.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He during a "regularly scheduled call", where the parties addressed the steps that China had taken to effect structural changes required in their "phase one" agreement.

"Both sides see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement," said Lighthizer's office, while China's commerce ministry added there had been "constructive dialogue" between the two.

In terms of Covid-19 headlines, America's top health official warned of the risks of applying political pressure on the Food and Drug Administration to extend emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate before the November presidential elections in the US.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' head Anthony Fauci emphasised the need to not extend an EUA before there was a "signal of efficacy". Among the potential dangers he cited was the possibility that premature approval might make it more difficult for other vaccines to enrol people in their trials.

Newly confirmed Covid-19 cases in the US have dropped of late, according to Johns Hopkins University, with around 38,000 cases recorded on Monday - well below the daily average of 50,000 seen in mid-August.

However, sentiment later took a hit after data revealed that consumer confidence fell for a second straight month in August amid concerns around the US' economic outlook. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index dropped to 84.8 this month from 91.7 in July, falling short of expectations of an improvement to a reading of 93 and hitting a new pandemic-era low.

Elsewhere on the macro front, S&P/Case-Shiller revealed that home prices rose 4.3% year-on-year during June, indicating a small recovery from the Covid-19-fuelled slump in transactions throughout March and April. The 10-City Composite increased 2.8% annually, down from 3% in the previous month.

Still on homes, new home sales surged to their highest level in nearly 14 years in July, with low mortgage rates helping fuel a suburban construction increase. Purchases of new single-family houses climbed 13.9% month-on-month to 901,000 from an upwardly revised 791,000, according to the Census Bureau.

Lastly, the Richmond Fed's August manufacturing index rose to 18 from 10, suggesting manufacturers in the area saw increases in employment, wages and the average workweek.

No major corporate earnings were released on Tuesday.