US close: Stocks finish mixed as investors seek direction on trade
Wall Street trading finished as it started on Tuesday - in a mixed state - as some confused signals on the US-China trade front and some disappointing figures from the likes of Home Depot and Kohl's halted a record-breaking rally.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.36% at 27,934.02 and the S&P 500 lost 0.06% to 3,120.18, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.24% to 8,570.66.
At the open, the Dow Jones was 58.58 points weaker after closing higher in the first session of the week, shrugging off some heightened caution surrounding Beijing and Washington's protracted trade war.
Former White House chief economic advisor Gary Cohn told CNBC on Monday that he believes Donald Trump will forge ahead with another round of tariffs against China on 15 December if the pair are unable to agree to a trade deal by then.
“The Dow Jones, which at one point spiked to 28,150, pulled back under 28,000 as the session went on,” said SpreadEx analyst Connor Campbell.
“That 50 point loss seems, in part at least, to stem from the confusion surrounding the trade deal.
“From a 'constructive' phone call on Saturday morning to reports of Chinese pessimism on Monday, with a Huawei ban delay and hopes of Chinese stimulus thrown in to muddy the waters, it is hard to work out exactly where the superpowers stand."
On the data front, US housing starts grew a bit more slowly than anticipated last month.
According to the Department of Commerce, the annualised rate of US housing starts jumped by 3.8% month-on-month to reach 1.314m, pushing the year-on-year rate of increase to 8.7%.
Single-family housing starts grew by 2% over the month to reach an annualised pace of 936,000, while those for units in buildings with five or more units came in at 362,000.
Elsewhere, NY Federal Reserve President John Williams said interest rates were where they needed to be in order to support the US economy.
"I think we have monetary policy in the right place," Williams said during a discussion at a capital markets conference in Washington. "The economy is right where we would like it to be."
In other news, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence began its latest open hearing as part of the Trump impeachment inquiry.
In the corporate space, home improvement retailer Home Depot slid 5.44% after it once again cut its 2019 forecast and reported same-store sales well below estimates.
Discount department store chain Kohl's tanked 19.49% after its earnings and sales for the latest quarter fell short of analysts' estimates and also cut its profit outlook for the full year.
Dow Jones - Risers
Visa Inc. (V) $182.77 1.73%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $37.66 1.18%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $135.46 0.87%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $45.47 0.71%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $84.65 0.62%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $148.38 0.49%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $274.28 0.48%
American Express Co. (AXP) $120.00 0.28%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $58.35 0.17%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $134.52 0.16%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $225.86 -5.44%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $116.45 -1.77%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $67.82 -1.02%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $61.45 -0.79%
Boeing Co. (BA) $367.00 -0.67%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $93.61 -0.61%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $148.40 -0.50%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $193.44 -0.43%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $121.40 -0.39%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $266.29 -0.30%
S&P 500 - Risers
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $41.29 3.54%
Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $184.34 3.51%
Constellation Brands Inc. Class A (STZ) $180.96 3.47%
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) $20.37 2.72%
Teleflex Inc. (TFX) $353.83 2.65%
Discovery Inc. Class A (DISCA) $31.57 2.63%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $110.65 2.48%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $11.28 2.45%
Roper Technologies Inc (ROP) $350.02 2.44%
Brown Forman Corp. Class B (BF.B) $66.14 2.43%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $47.02 -19.49%
Macy's Inc. (M) $15.04 -10.90%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $28.38 -10.22%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $35.50 -6.26%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $225.86 -5.44%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $61.84 -4.17%
AT&T Inc. (T) $38.00 -4.11%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $47.52 -4.02%
L Brands Inc (LB) $17.18 -3.86%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $97.62 -3.40%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $77.73 3.41%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $359.52 2.72%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $110.65 2.48%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $29.29 2.41%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $215.00 2.38%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $317.70 2.13%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $68.49 1.87%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $141.75 1.81%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $166.89 1.76%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $224.50 1.74%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $47.52 -4.02%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $87.96 -2.79%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $35.83 -2.61%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $46.58 -2.59%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $60.94 -2.26%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $276.76 -2.10%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $207.99 -2.02%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $106.88 -2.00%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $239.60 -1.94%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $9.88 -1.89%