After the lackluster performance seen in previous week, the US markets ended mostly higher on Monday. Second-quarter earnings and a rally in financial stocks helped the markets to close mostly higher. Financials are likely to see further gains as the sector recovers from a slight year-to-date selloff following worries on rate policy changes as a result of a new international tariff environment. Meanwhile, finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 made little progress on trade tensions at a weekend meeting in Buenos Aires, as both US and European Union officials held their ground. Though, investors have been worried that spats between the US and other major trading partners could explode into a full-scale trade war, damaging economic growth and investments.
Sentiment were downbeat following the release of a report from the National Association of Realtors showing an unexpected drop in existing home sales in the month of June. NAR said existing home sales fell by 0.6% to an annual rate of 5.36 million in June from a downwardly revised rate of 5.41 million in May. Street had expected existing home sales to climb by 0.5%. There continues to be a mismatch since the spring between the growing level of homebuyer demand in most of the country in relation to the actual pace of home sales, which are declining. The unexpected drop in existing home sales came as declines in the South and West exceeded sales gains in the Northeast and Midwest.
The S&P 500 gained 5.15 points or 0.18 percent to 2806.98 and the Nasdaq was up by 21.67 points or 0.28 percent to 7841.87, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 13.83 points or 0.06 percent to 25044.29.
