US close: Markets higher as investors shrug off trade concerns
US stocks were in the green by the closing bell on Tuesday, having earlier taken their cue from positive sessions in Asia and Europe as investors brushed off the latest escalation in trade tensions between the US and China.
Dow Jones I.A.
38,239.66
04:30 15/10/20
Nasdaq 100
17,718.30
12:15 26/04/24
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day ahead 0.71% at 26,246.96, the S&P 500 added 0.54% to 2,904.31, and the Nasdaq 100 was 0.8% firmer at 7,494.40.
China fired back at the United States after Donald Trump ramped up his trade war with his biggest wave of tariffs against Beijing yet.
The Chinese government promised to impose tariffs on $60bn worth of US goods following the White House's announcement that it was imposing 10% tariffs on $200bn worth of Chinese imports, a levy that will be raised to 25% from January.
Trump vowed to impose tariffs on an additional $267bn of Chinese goods if it retaliated.
"We have been very clear about the type of changes that need to be made, and we have given China every opportunity to treat us more fairly," Trump said in a statement.
"But, so far, China has been unwilling to change its practices."
Pantheon Macroeconomics chief economist Ian Shepherdson said the imposition of the tariffs would not be a “game changer” for US growth, but would be visible - particularly after they rise from the initial 10% to 25% after 1 January.
“The administration wanted to avoid playing Scrooge in the holiday season,” he quipped.
“We don't know for sure how quickly importers will raise wholesale prices of the affected items, or how quickly manufacturers of substitutes for Chinese products will lift their prices.
“But the very rapid pass-through when imported washing machines were subjected to tariffs earlier this year sets a disconcerting precedent.”
On the data front, sentiment among US housebuilders was steady in September, according to data released on Tuesday.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index was unchanged from August at 67, beating expectations for a dip to 66.
Meanwhile, the index measuring current sales conditions rose one point to 74, while the index of expectations for the next six months was up two points to 74.
The gauge for buyer traffic was steady in September at 49.
In corporate news, General Mills dropped 7.6% after its first-quarter profit beat expectations but sales fell somewhat short.
AutoZone dipped 1.85% by the close after the release of the company's fourth-quarter earnings, and BorgWarner dropped 2.67% after cutting its profit and sales guidance.
Elsewhere, Oracle was 0.31% in the red following its first-quarter numbers late on Monday.
Viking Therapeutics soared 87.3% following positive results from its phase 2 trial on its NAFLD drug VK2809.
Dow Jones - Risers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $85.26 2.12%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $149.07 1.95%
3M Co. (MMM) $211.54 1.76%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.10 1.50%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $139.58 1.29%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $43.51 1.16%
Boeing Co. (BA) $363.58 1.05%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $131.37 1.05%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $113.21 0.95%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $211.02 0.93%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $68.04 -1.16%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.93 -0.84%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $263.29 -0.76%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $54.39 -0.57%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $84.00 -0.30%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $157.77 -0.23%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $228.89 -0.15%
Visa Inc. (V) $147.63 -0.14%
American Express Co. (AXP) $109.64 0.07%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $148.56 0.16%
S&P 500 - Risers
Kroger Co. (KR) $29.29 5.36%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $367.65 4.94%
NiSource Inc. (NI) $25.92 4.56%
Unum Group (UNM) $38.49 4.31%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $20.65 4.29%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.18 4.23%
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $69.14 4.14%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $16.36 4.07%
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) $186.70 4.07%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $45.33 4.02%
S&P 500 - Fallers
General Mills Inc. (GIS) $44.13 -7.58%
FedEx Corp. (FDX) $241.58 -5.43%
Teradata Corp. (TDC) $38.07 -4.49%
Borg Warner Inc. (BWA) $42.98 -4.21%
Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (MMC) $83.16 -4.16%
Red Hat Inc. (RHT) $142.71 -4.13%
AutoNation Inc. (AN) $43.09 -4.03%
Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (KDP) $23.55 -3.76%
Ryder System Inc. (R) $75.70 -3.32%
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $40.58 -3.15%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $367.65 4.94%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $20.65 4.29%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $45.33 4.02%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $328.79 2.92%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $120.82 2.55%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $40.50 2.45%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $37.74 2.11%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $239.73 2.09%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $74.72 2.02%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $385.96 2.01%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $284.96 -3.35%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $315.08 -2.23%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $57.10 -2.14%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $271.02 -1.06%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $143.68 -0.73%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $80.39 -0.61%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $59.39 -0.55%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $43.47 -0.55%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $99.60 -0.47%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $44.16 -0.41%