The US markets ended choppy trading session mostly in green on Tuesday as a rally in energy, industrials and materials stocks overshadowed a selloff in momentum-driven technology shares, helping the Dow Jones Industrial Average extend its win streak to five sessions. Though, some cautiousness prevailed on the markets amid uncertainty ahead of the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy decision on Thursday as well as next week's Federal Reserve meeting. Both the ECB and the Fed are expected to cut interest rates in reaction to recent indications of a slowdown by the global economy. Meanwhile, concerns about the US-China trade battle appear to have moved to the back burner for investors after being blamed for volatile market action in August. China has reportedly offered to buy more American agricultural products in exchange for a delay in upcoming tariffs and the easing of a ban against doing business with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies.
On the economic front, the US National Federation of Independent Business said its small-business optimism index fell 1.6 points to a seasonally adjusted 103.1 in August, its worst showing since March. The rate at which Americans quit their jobs hit an all-time high in July, the Labor Department estimated, suggesting that workers are confident in the strength of the job market. Job openings fell slightly during the month, while layoffs remained at low levels.
Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 73.92 points or 0.28 percent to 26,909.43 and S&P 500 was up by 0.96 points or 0.03 percent to 2,979.39, while Nasdaq declined 3.28 points or 0.04 percent to 8,084.15.
