- The Dow displayed laxity in its stock analysis
- Real estate stocks show a positive vibe
- U.S. manufacturing activity expanded last month
Tuesday came as a shocker as the Dow Jones Industrial Average showed laxity in their stock analysis as traders assessed a strong rally from previous sessions whereas a decline in Walgreens Boots Alliance put a strain on the index.
The Dow closed 79 points down while the S&P 500 finished its day with no indicators, while the Nasdaq gained 0.25 percent.
Real Estate Shows Some Marked Improvements
Real estate showed some improvement with a 0.9 percent boost. Consumer staples and energy stocks were the worst performers in the market with a slide of 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent respectively. Materials climbed 0.4 percent.
“Today looks like consolidation,” said Larry Benedict, founder of The Opportunistic Trader. But “we’ve definitely broken out of that range around 2,800; we’re now around 2,870. We could go to the high” seen last year.
Benedict reiterated that the March jobs report-which is to be released on Friday- could be the awaited record highs. “These numbers on Friday are really much more important to what’s going to happen in the next move from here.”
U.S. and China Trade Negotiations Cause Ripples
The Tuesday moves come after strong manufacturing data came out of the U.S. and China negotiations during Monday’s session. The Dow closed above 26,000 points for the first time since February 26. The 30-stock index gained 300 points on Monday while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both gained more than 1 percent.
Data showed that U.S. manufacturing indices expanded last month with rebounds from their lowest level since late 2016. Another separate data showed China’s factory activity also rebounded, expanding at its fastest in eight months.
Bank stocks were, in turn, boosted from these data reports which led to a Treasury yields surge. Rates were down on Tuesday as the benchmark 10-year yield traded at 2.47 percent.
Capital goods orders fell 0.1 percent in February, whereas economists surveyed by Refinitiv expected an unchanged print.
These gains added to an objective start to 2019 for stocks as the S&P 500 traded more than 13 percent, however, positivity will be hard to come by for the rest of the year according to Richard Turnill, the global chief investment strategist at BlackRock.
“We see a repeat as unlikely and a narrower path for a grind higher,” Turnill said in a note. “The global economy must remain strong enough to quell recession fears but weak enough to keep policymakers on hold, we believe.”
