With little in the way of news to sway the U.S. equity markets soundly in one direction or the other, stocks finished with modest gains, led again by the tech sector, after spending most of the day crowding the unchanged mark. Tax reform continued to garner attention as the Senate is expected to deliver its bill this week, while global trade was also in focus as President Trump continues his Asian tour and China posted mixed trade data. Crude oil prices came under pressure following a bearish government oil inventory report and gold was higher. Treasury yields ticked slightly higher and the U.S. dollar was little changed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 6 points to 23,548, the S&P 500 Index was 4 points (0.1%) higher at 2,594, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 21 points (0.3%) to 6,789. In moderate volume, 881 million shares were traded on the NYSE and 2.1 billion shares changed hands on the Nasdaq. WTI crude oil fell $0.39 to $56.81 per barrel and wholesale gasoline was unchanged at $1.82 per gallon. Elsewhere, the Bloomberg gold spot price was $5.32 higher at $1,280.62 per ounce, and the Dollar Index—a comparison of the U.S. dollar to six major world currencies—was nearly unchanged at 94.88.
The MBA Mortgage Application Index was flat last week, following the prior week’s 2.6% decline. The unchanged reading came as a 0.5% decrease in the Refinance Index was offset by a 0.5% gain in the Purchase Index. The average 30-year mortgage rate fell 4 basis points (bps) to 4.18%.
Treasuries dipped, as the yields on the 2-year and 10-year notes, along with the 30-year bond, all inched 1 bp higher to 1.64%, 2.32% and 2.79%, respectively.
Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar remained subdued as a positive global economic backdrop continues to be met with looming Fed leadership changes, and market grappling with uncertainty regarding the long road to tax reform.
Tomorrow’s economic calendar will remain light, beginning with weekly initial jobless claims, forecasted to rise modestly to 232,000 from the prior week’s 229,000, followed by wholesale inventories, with economists expecting a 0.3% month-over-month increase for September, matching that seen in August.
Schwab Center for Financial Research – Market Analysis Group
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