US markets closed mostly lower; Dow reports minor gain

16 Aug 2017 Evaluate

The US markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday, the Dow industrials managed third day of gains, but overall the main benchmarks ended little changed amid better-then-expected retail sales data and an abatement of tensions between the US and North Korea. Tuesday’s weak showing comes after an upbeat close on Monday, when the S&P gained 1% for the first time in three months. Tensions between the two nations appeared to ease, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un deciding not to launch a threatened missile attack on Guam. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that American households increased their borrowing over the past year at the fastest pace of the US economic expansion. Consumer debt levels rose 4.5 percent in the year through June to $12.84 trillion. Mortgage borrowings were up 3.9 percent, while credit-card balances increased 7.5 percent. Both marked the fastest rate of increase since 2008. Auto- and student-loan debt levels also rose.

On the economy front, sales at US retailers surged in July to the highest level of 2017, aided by strong demand for new autos and Amazon’s Prime Day shopping specials. Sales at retailers nationwide jumped 0.6% last month. A mysterious decline in spending at the end of the second quarter, meanwhile, vanished after fresh government revisions based on newly incorporated sales data. Retail sales actually rose 0.3% in June instead of falling 0.2% and sales in May were flat. The retail report can be quite volatile and subject to large revisions. The latest report on retail sales shows households still had plenty of buying power as the third quarter got under way in July. Consumer spending is by far the largest source of US economic activity. Steady hiring, the lowest unemployment rate in 16 years and gently rising incomes have all buoyed spending in 2017, keeping the economy on a modest growth path more than eight years after an expansion took hold.

Meanwhile, a gauge of New York-area manufacturing skyrocketed to a three-year high in August. The New York Fed’s Empire State manufacturing index surged 15 points to 25.2, it’s highest in nearly three years. The index’s sub-gauges were also strong. The shipments gauge rose 1.9 points to 12.4, and two employment readings - number of employees and average workweek - were also much higher. The new orders gauge rose 7.3 points to 20.6, signaling stronger business conditions in the future. Firms also turned more optimistic. The gauge of views on future business conditions spiked ten points.

The Nasdaq dropped 7.22 points or 0.11 percent to 6,333.01, the S&P 500 edged lower by 1.23 points or 0.05 percent to 2,464.61, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 5.28 points or 0.02 percent to 21,998.99.

About MoneyWorks4Me

MoneyWorks4Me is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) dedicated to helping investors build long-term wealth through transparent, research-driven, conflict-free guidance. Founded in 2008, we started our journey as a Research Analyst (RA), providing deep fundamental analysis, intrinsic value insights, and long-term investing frameworks for Indian equities. In 2017, we transitioned to a full-fledged SEBI-registered Investment Adviser, strengthening our commitment to acting as a fiduciary—always putting the investor’s interest first.

Our Vision

To become India’s most trusted, research-powered fiduciary advisory platform—where every investor, regardless of experience, can make calm, confident, and well-reasoned investment decisions.

What Makes MoneyWorks4Me Different

Fiduciary-first advisory model.
As SEBI-registered IAs, we are legally and ethically bound to act in the best interests of our clients. We do not sell or distribute any financial products. This ensures our guidance is 100% unbiased and conflict-free.
Deep fundamental research + robust valuation discipline.
Built on more than 15 years of equity research, our framework combines quality assessment, intrinsic value estimation, and a sensible margin-of-safety approach.
Process—not predictions.
We don’t rely on guesswork or market timing. Instead, we focus on asset allocation, risk management, and long-term compounding.
Technology + Human Intelligence.
We believe a combination of both is essential for investing success. We constantly innovate and upgrade in-house tools, financial X-rays, and portfolio analytics so that our team of analysts and advisors are equipped with the best.
Partner with Clients.
We follow a DIWM (Do-It-With-Me) approach where we partner clients in setting goals, financial planning, educating on our investing process and share decision-enabling resources transparently with our clients who retain control on execution.

Our Approach: Ensuring compounding work its magic on client portfolio.

MoneyWorks4Me ensures this through:

Investing in stocks, mutual funds, debt, and gold
Quality-at-Reasonable-Price way of investing in stocks
Constructing Direct Stock Portfolios with Core, Booster, and Amplifier stocks
A Mutual Fund Portfolio that delivers consistent out-performance and meaningful diversification (low overlap)
Periodic review and rebalancing
Clear Buy-Sell-Hold, and Position-sizing frameworks

Name of the IA registered with SEBI:	The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.
Logo:
Trade/Brand Name of IA:	MoneyWorks4Me Investment Advisers
Brand Logo:
SEBI Registration Number:	INA000013323 Validity – May 16, 2019 – Perpetual
Registration:	Non-Individual
BSE Enlistment No:	1187
Address:	B-101, Signet Corner Building, Balewadi Phata, Baner, Pune, Maharashtra 411045
Compliance officer Details:	Name: Shrikant Jagtap Email: shrikant.jagtap@moneyworks4me.com Telephone: +919860359463 Address: Same as IA
Grievance Officer Details:	Name: Mukta Vaze Email: mukta.vaze@moneyworks4me.com Telephone: +91 98609 19463 Address: Same as IA
Principal Officer Details:	Name: Atharva Bhide Email: atharva.bhide@moneyworks4me.com Telephone: +91 91758 99463 Address: Same as IA
Standard Warning:	Investment in securities market are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing.
Disclaimer:	Registration granted by SEBI, enlistment with exchange and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.