· The benchmark S&P 500 edged lower on Tuesday, as investors paused in the wake of a rally buoyed by hopes of a trade deal between the United States and China that sent the three main U.S. stock indexes to record highs in the previous session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 30.52 points, or 0.11%, to 27,492.63, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 3.65 points, or 0.12%, to 3,074.62 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 1.48 points, or 0.02%, to 8,434.68.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs for a second session on Monday, while the Dow hit a record high for the first time since July.
Keeping some tentativeness intact, China is pushing President Donald Trump to remove more tariffs as part of the “phase one” deal, which may be signed this month, according to latest reports.
Apart from hopes of a resolution to the trade war, stocks have received a boost from a largely better-than-expected third-quarter earnings season, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut and upbeat economic data.
Data on Tuesday showed the reading on the ISM services index improved to 54.7 in October from 52.6 in September, above expectations of 53.4, according to economists polled by Reuters, easing concerns that a slowdown in the manufacturing sector was spreading to other parts of the economy.
· European markets edged higher on Tuesday as investors await updates on a potential U.S.-China trade tariff rollback and monitor economic developments.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally climbed 0.23% by the closing bell, with basic resources jumping over 1.9% while utilities stocks fell around 0.8% to lead sectoral losses.
· Stocks in Asia edged higher in Wednesday morning trade as investors monitor developments on U.S.-China trade.
The Nikkei 225 gained 0.22% in early trade, with shares of index heavyweight and robot maker Fanuc advancing 0.68%. The Topix index also added 0.12%.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi was largely flat while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.12% as shares of major miner BHP jumped 1.41%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index was largely flat.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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