US markets end mostly lower on Monday

17 Jul 2018 Evaluate

After strong upward move seen last week, the US markets end mostly lower on Monday as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of quarterly financial results from a number of big-name companies this week. Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Morgan Stanley (MS), American Express (AXP), IBM Corp. (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT), and General Electric (GE) are among the companies due to report their results in the coming days. Further, the sell-off by energy stocks also restricted the markets to go up amid a sharp drop by the price of crude oil, as crude for August delivery plunged $2.95 to $68.06 a barrel. Meanwhile, investors also watched President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin convene for a summit in Helsinki, Finland but reaction to a joint conference with the two leaders was muted.

Traders largely refrained from cashing in on last week’s gains after a report from the Commerce Department showed retail sales in the US increased in line with street estimates in the month of June. The report said retail sales climbed by 0.5% in June after soaring by an upwardly revised 1.3% in May. Street had expected sales to rise by 0.5% compared to the 0.8% increase originally reported for the previous month. Excluding a jump in auto sales, retail sales still rose by 0.4% in June following a 1.4% spike in May. The increase in ex-auto sales also matched street estimates. Besides, a separate report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed New York manufacturing activity continued to grow at a fairly brisk pace in July, although the pace of growth slowed from the previous month. While the New York Fed said its general business conditions index dipped to 22.6 in July from 25.0, a positive reading still indicates growth in regional manufacturing activity. Street had expected the index to drop to 22.0.

The S&P 500 declined 2.88 points or 0.10 percent to 2798.43 and the Nasdaq was down by 20.26 points or 0.26 percent to 7805.72, while The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 44.95 points or 0.18 percent to 25064.36.

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