US markets end lower for second straight day

31 Jul 2018 Evaluate

Extending their southward journey, the US markets ended lower for second straight session, as shares of technology companies tumbled, and investors braced for a busy week of corporate earnings and central-bank meetings. The Fed's strategy has been to raise rates gradually, signaling two additional rate rises before the end of the year. The central bank, which begins its two-day policy meeting Tuesday, is not expected to raise rates again until September.

On economic front, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing a much bigger than expected rebound in pending home sales in the month of June. NAR said its pending home sales index climbed by 0.9 percent to 106.9 in June after falling by 0.5 percent to 105.9 in May. Investors had expected pending home sales to inch up by 0.1 percent. Despite the much bigger than expected increase, pending home sales in June were down by 2.5 percent compared to the same month a year ago, reflecting the sixth straight year-over-year decrease. A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.

Meanwhile, overall trading activity was somewhat subdued as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement on August 1. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but traders are likely to keep a close eye on the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

The S&P 500 shed 16.22 points or 0.58 percent to 2,802.60 and the Nasdaq declined 107.42 points or 1.39 percent to 7630.00 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 144.23 points or 0.57 percent to 25,306.83.

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