US stock market little changed ahead of quarterly reports - 18.7.2017

Nasdaq advances while S&P 500 and Dow slip

US stocks closed little changed on Monday as investors await earnings from major companies this week. The dollar edged higher after Friday’s losses following disappointing retail sales and inflation data: the live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, gained 0.05% to 95.141. S&P 500 slipped 0.01% settling at 2459.14. Only four of the 11 main sectors finished lower led by health care stocks down 0.3%. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down less than 0.1% to 2169.72, with losses in JP Morgan and IBM shares outweighing gains in Microsoft and Home Depot. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.03% closing at 6321.76.

Shares of brick-and-mortar retailers Macy’s and Kohl’s gained more than 2% lifting consumer-discretionary stocks 0.3%. Analysts attribute the rise in traditional retailer stocks, depressed recently by threat from online retailers such as Amazon, to insider buying by executives. Quarterly results from major companies such as Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft and General Electric are expected this week to set tone for current earnings season. Stocks valuations are at historical highs and rising earnings are needed to justify them. 68 S&P 500 companies will report earnings this week.

SP 500

Mining shares lead European stocks higher

European stocks finished higher on Monday led by mining shares supported by China’s strong GDP growth report. The euro extended gains against the dollar while British Pound ended lower. The Stoxx Europe 600 index edged up 0.01%. The DAX 30 fell 0.4% to 12587.16. France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.1% and UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4% to 7404.13 as mining shares gianed. European stocks opened 0.1% - 0.3% higher today.

Mining shares got a boost from a report after China reported 6.9% GDP growth for second quarter, better than an expected 6.8%. Swedish miner Boliden shares rose 1.3%, copper producer Antofagasta gained 2.3%. In economic news, euro-zone final inflation in June was unchanged from an initial reading of 1.3%.

Asian stocks lower

Asian stock indices are mostly lower today as dollar resumed the slide with growing doubts President Trump’s administration can deliver on pledges of tax reform and deregulation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged the lack of enough support to dismantle and simultaneously replace much of the Affordable Care Act in a statement Monday night. Nikkei closed 0.6% lower at 19999.91 as yen moved higher against the dollar. Exporters Toyota and Honda fell 1.3% and 1.2% respectively as stronger yen negatively impacts their overseas earnings outlook. Chinese stocks are up: the Shanghai Composite Index is 0.3% higher and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is up 0.02% . Australia’s All Ordinaries Index is down 0.1% on continued rise in Australian dollar against the greenback after Reserve Bank of Australia meeting minutes revealed policy makers’ assessment of economy’s outlook has improved.

Oil down on oversupply concerns

Oil futures prices are inching lower today on continued oversupply concerns despite sign of strong demand. Data on Monday showed refineries in China increased crude throughput in June to the second highest on record. Prices fell previous day on expectations of higher US shale oil production. The US Energy Information Administration forecast a rise of 113000 barrels a day to 5.585 million barrels a day in August oil production from seven major domestic shale plays compared with July. September Brent crude lost 1% settling at $48.42 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange on Monday.