The US markets ended lower on Tuesday after President Donald Trump said that US-China trade talks still have a long way to go and once again threatened to impose tariffs on another $325 billion worth of Chinese goods. Further, cautiousness also prevailed in the markets as a mixed batch of US economic data led to uncertainty about the near-term outlook for interest rates. Raising concerns the Federal Reserve could refrain from cutting rates later this month, the Commerce Department released a report showing much stronger than expected US retail sales growth. The Commerce Department said retail sales rose by 0.4 percent in June, matching the downwardly revised increase in May. Street had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent. Closely watched core retail sales, which exclude autos, gasoline, building materials and food services, jumped by 0.7 percent in June after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.6 percent in May.
ING Chief International Economist James Knightley said the report suggests consumer spending rose robustly in the second quarter, which he expects to help keep GDP growth above 2 percent. Meanwhile, a separate report from the Fed showed US industrial production was unexpectedly flat June, as a steep drop in utilities output offset increases in manufacturing and mining output. The Fed said industrial production was unchanged in June after climbing by 0.4 percent in May. Street had expected production to edge up by 0.2 percent. Besides, traders were also digesting earnings news from big-name companies such as Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo.
Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 23.53 points or 0.09 percent to 27335.63, Nasdaq fell 35.39 points or 0.43 percent to 8222.80 and S&P 500 was down by 10.26 points or 0.34 percent to 3004.04.
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