US close: Stocks turn in mixed performance as trade remains firmly in focus
US stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday, with a late rally helping erase a massive drop earlier in the session.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.09% at 26,007.07, while the S&P 500 was 0.08% firmer at 2,883.98 and the Nasdaq Composite closed 0.38% stronger at 7,862.83.
The Dow closed 22.45 points weaker after rallying back from a 589-point drop in wild session.
News that China was taking steps to steady its currency, which breached the 7.0 yuan level versus the US dollar for the first time in 11 years on Monday, seemingly calmed investor concerns about a global currency war earlier in the session.
However, market participants moved back into safe havens such as gold, much like they had on Monday when the yellow metal reached a more than six-year high.
Elsewhere, the 10-year Treasury yield was 1.729% after staring August above 2%. It slid below 1.6% earlier in the session to its lowest level since 2016. The move further narrowed the yield curve between the 10-year rate and the 2-year yield, a widely watched recession indicator, as the spread fell to its lowest level since 2007 at less than 8 basis points.
Gold jumped more than 2%, marking the first time in six years the precious metal traded above $1,500. Year-to-date gains also overtook those of the S&P 500.
In corporate news, Disney shares closed 5% lower after posting weaker-than-expected quarterly results overnight.
On the data front, total mortgage applications shot up 5.3% in the week ended 2 August as homeowners scrambled to take advantage of a marked reduction in mortgage interest rates.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, application volumes were 46.5% higher year-on-year last week, with refinancing driving the volume with a 12% week-on-week increase and 116% year-on-year growth.
However, new mortgage applications fell 2% for a fourth straight weekly decrease but purchase volume still came in 7% firmer year-on-year.
In other news, US consumer debt rose less than expected in June.
Total credit rose $14.6bn, the smallest increase in three months and shy of economists' median estimates following a revised $17.8bn increase for May, according to the Federal Reserve.