US stocks end lower on ebbing trade optimism - 27.9.2019

Dollar strengthens as pending home sales rise

US stocks pulled back again on Thursday after reports US is unlikely to extend a waiver allowing American firms to do business with Chinese Huawei when it expires in November. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to 2977.62. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.3% to 26891.12. Nasdaq composite index fell 0.6% to 8030.66. The dollar strengthening continued after report US pending home sales index rose in August 2.5% over year, while the number of Americans applying for new unemployment benefits rose by 3,000 to 213,000 last week: 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, rose 0.2% to 99.20 and is higher currently. Stock index futures point to higher openings today.

FTSE 100 paces European indexes gains

European stocks recovered on Thursday after positive data. Both EUR/USD and GBP/USD continued falling yesterday with Pound moving higher currently against dollar while euro lower still. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended 0.7% higher with utility shares pacing advancers. Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.4% to 12288.54 on GfK report German consumer confidence index rose for the first time in 2019 to come in at 9.9 for October following a reading of 9.7 for September. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.66% while UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.8% to 7351.08 as UK car production rose for the first time in 15 months.

Nikkei falls ahead of sales tax

Asian stock indices are mixed today. Nikkei pulled back 0.8% to 21878.90 ahead of October 1 hike in Japan’s sales tax to 10% from the current 8% with yen little changed against the dollar. Chinese stocks are mixed after report China’s industrial profits dropped 2% in August from a year earlier: the Shanghai Composite Index is up 0.1% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 0.4% lower. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index rebounded 0.6% erasing previous session loss despite resumed Australian dollar climb against the greenback.

Brent falls

Brent futures prices are edging lower today. Prices rose yesterday after news the US will deploy one “patriot battery, four sentinel RADARs and approximately 200 support personnel” to Saudi Arabia: November Brent gained 0.6% to $62.74 a barrel on Thursday.