US close: Stocks finish mixed as focus remains on China
Wall Street trading finished in a mixed state on Monday, amid a continued stalemate between lawmakers in regards to further stimulus payments and heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.31% at 27,844.91, while the S&P 500 added 0.27% to 3,381.99 and the Nasdaq Composite was 1% higher at 11,129.73.
The Dow closed 86.11 points lower on Monday, reversing gains recorded at the end of last week as the blue-chip index flirted with an all-time high for most of the week but fell short.
Monday's main focus was much the same as the prior week, with investors firmly fixated on stalled talks around another batch of Covid-19 stimulus payments to US citizens.
Democrats proposed to send more than $900bn to states and municipalities in a single bill, while a counteroffer from the Republican Party made no mention of any additional aid for states and local governments.
Also weighing on the sentiment was US-Sino trade relations after Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday forcing ByteDance to sell or spin off its US TikTok unit within three months.
The president cited "credible evidence" that ByteDance could "take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States".
“With US-China trade talks postponed indefinitely, and Covid-19 deaths on the wrong side of 170,000, there was little reason for the Dow Jones to avoid a red open,” said SpreadEx's Connor Cambell earlier.
“Falling 0.3%, the index was put on the journey back towards 27,850, the rally that defined the first half of August continuing to stall.”
In terms of the coronavirus itself, the US reported over 42,000 new cases on Sunday, a marked drop from the 64,000 recorded on Friday, according to John Hopkins University.
On the macro front, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's regional manufacturing sector index slipped in August.
The headline activity index fell from a reading of 17.2 for July to 3.7, against consensus forecasts for 14.5, while the key sub-index tied to new orders fell from 13.9 to -1.7.
Elsewhere, in a sign that housing continued to lead the economy forward, builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes increased six points to 78 in August, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
The index now stood at its highest reading ever, matching a record set in December 1998.
In corporate news, Trinity Biotech received a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration following an inspection of its Kansas City, Missouri manufacturing facility, sending its shares down 9.65%.
Boeing and Walgreens Boots Alliance were also on the back foot, falling 3.41% and 1.75%, respectively, weighing on the Dow.
Dow Jones - Risers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $288.24 2.74%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $135.60 2.26%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $84.76 1.53%
Visa Inc. (V) $199.43 1.42%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $208.67 0.79%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $38.35 0.76%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $210.28 0.66%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $148.99 0.51%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $90.77 0.46%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $135.46 0.30%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Boeing Co. (BA) $172.01 -3.41%
American Express Co. (AXP) $97.55 -2.85%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $99.71 -2.64%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $203.07 -2.36%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $115.91 -2.27%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $41.17 -1.75%
Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) $62.77 -1.37%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $42.64 -1.30%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $320.51 -0.99%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $42.09 -0.96%
S&P 500 - Risers
L Brands Inc (LB) $28.80 8.52%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $68.35 7.05%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $493.48 6.68%
DaVita Inc (DVA) $86.26 4.98%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $77.07 3.80%
Resmed Inc. (RMD) $183.20 3.63%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $153.58 3.35%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $97.13 3.26%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $103.36 3.15%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $46.43 3.02%
S&P 500 - Fallers
American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.62 -5.33%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $14.68 -5.11%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $3.98 -5.01%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $13.91 -4.99%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $34.40 -4.92%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $10.99 -4.43%
Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) $66.79 -3.86%
Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $36.26 -3.77%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $8.32 -3.70%
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) $31.00 -3.67%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $1,835.64 11.20%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $66.98 7.93%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $493.48 6.68%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $123.92 6.15%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $97.13 3.26%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $103.36 3.15%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,189.87 2.89%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $474.57 2.86%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $97.48 2.75%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $196.29 2.52%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.62 -5.33%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $10.11 -3.81%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $21.72 -2.16%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $21.11 -2.00%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $43.68 -1.89%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $41.17 -1.75%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $83.50 -1.74%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $78.39 -1.56%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $1,752.92 -1.46%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $112.18 -1.37%