US markets settle mostly in red on Tuesday

23 Aug 2023 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday as traders continued to look ahead to the economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later this week. The symposium will feature meetings by global central bank leaders as well as a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that could impact the outlook for interest rates. Early volatility in the bond market have also contributed to the choppy trading, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note showing wild swings back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing modestly lower. Concerns about the outlook for interest rates have contributed to a recent surge in bond yields, driving the ten-year yield to its highest levels in over fifteen years. On the sectoral front, banking stocks moved sharply lower, dragging the KBW Bank Index down by 2.6 percent to its lowest closing level in almost two months. The sell-off by banking stocks came after S&P Global Ratings downgraded several regional banks by one notch, citing tough operating conditions.

On the economic data front, existing home sales in the U.S. slumped by much more than expected in the month of July, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR said existing home sales tumbled by 2.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.07 million in July after plunging by 3.3 percent to an annual rate of 4.16 million in June. Street had expected existing home sales to edge down to an annual rate of 4.15 million. Existing home sales decreased for the fourth time in the past five months, falling to their lowest annual rate since hitting 4.00 million in January. The report said housing inventory at the end of July was 1.11 million units, up 3.7 percent from June 1.07 million units in June but down 14.6 percent from 1.30 million units a year ago. The unsold inventory represents 3.3 months of supply at the current sales pace, up from 3.1 months in June and 3.2 months in July 2022.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 174.86 points or 0.51 percent to 34,288.83 and S&P 500 was down by 12.22 points or 0.28 percent to 4,387.55, while Nasdaq added 8.28 points or 0.06 percent to 13,505.87.  


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