On 22 August, 2017 – Stocks rebounded Tuesday with technology shares leading the way

Investors continue to wait for Fed Chair Yellen’s and ECB President Mario Draghi’s remarks on Friday at the Jackson Hole symposium.
United States
Stocks advanced as investors responded positively to comments from House Speaker Paul Ryan on tax reform and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the debt ceiling, allaying concerns that the United States is poised to default on its debt. The Dow Jones industrials were up 0.9 percent, the S&P added 1.0 percent and the Nasdaq was 1.4 percent higher. Technology companies, retailers and metals miners helped lead the way.
Investors also are waiting for the Federal Reserve’s annual symposium in Jackson Wyoming that will begin on Thursday. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s speech Friday morning will be closely watched but Fed watchers do not expect her to give new guidance.
Metals companies helped lead the way for the market. Freeport-McMoRan gained on news that Indonesia expects to reach an agreement that would allow the miner to keep operating its Papua copper mine. Arconic also advanced. Macy’s advanced after announcing job cuts and restructuring. DSW was higher after the footwear retailer reported a surprise rise in comparable sales. Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts gained.
Homebuilder Toll Brothers declined after it cut the top end of its forecast for full-year revenue and despite also reporting stronger profit for the second quarter than expected. Western Digital, Cisco Systems and Alphabet rallied. Boeing contributed to the Dow’s upward move after being awarded a $349 million US Air Force contract for work on the nation’s next intercontinental ballistic missile. Restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday posted a substantial gain after reporting its fourth quarter results and announcing a plan to address its sales and operational challenges and improve profitability.
The FHFA house price index for June edged up a very soft 0.1 percent. However prices were up a very strong 6.5 percent from the same month a year ago.
These data reflect observations at 4:00 PM US ET. Gold at the afternoon London fixing was down US$8.70 to US$1,284.20. Copper futures were up 0.2 percent to US$3.01. WTI spot crude was up 27 US cents to US$47.64. Dated Brent spot crude was up 22 US cents to US$51.88. The US dollar was up against the yen, euro, pound, Swiss franc and the Australian dollar. The currency was unchanged against the Canadian dollar. The Dollar Index was up 0.5 percent. The yields on both the US Treasury 30 year bond and 10 year note were up 3 basis points to 2.79 percent and 2.21 percent respectively.
Europe
Shares rebounded after three days of declines. Investors remained in a cautious mood due to the uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration. Traders were also looking forward to the upcoming economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which begins on Thursday. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi are both due to speak at the conference and may shed some light on the outlook for monetary policy. Mining stocks were among the best performers following solid reports from BHP Billiton and Antofagasta. The FTSE, CAC and SMI all were up 0.9 percent while the DAX jumped 1.4 percent.
Total SA advanced a day after it agreed to acquire Maersk Oil for $7.45 billion. In London, BHP Billiton increased after the mining giant reported a turnaround to a full-year profit of $5.9 billion and raised its final dividend. Antofagasta also climbed after its half-year profit surged by nearly 90 percent, thanks to higher copper prices.
Persimmon was up after the homebuilder logged a 30 percent rise in first-half profit after selling more houses at higher prices. Sareum Holdings jumped after it said its fiscal 2017 profit after tax and cash at bank were ahead of market expectations. Provident Financial plunged after issuing another profit warning. A rally in Fiat Chrysler stalled after Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor affirmed its interest in the automaker but said it had not held talks.
August German ZEW indicator of economic sentiment declined from 17.5 in July to 10.0 — the lowest reading since October 2016, when the reading was 6.2. However, the reading for current conditions edged up to 86.7 from 86.4.
Asia Pacific
Asian stocks advanced Tuesday, although gains remained modest ahead of the upcoming Jackson Hole central banking conference beginning on Thursday.
The Shanghai Composite was up 0.1 percent in choppy trading while the Hang Seng jumped 0.9 percent.
The Nikkei was down 9.29 points while the Topix added 0.1 percent as the yen weakened to snap four days of gains. Metal stocks such as Sumitomo Metal Mining, Dowa Holdings and Toho Titanium gained after industrial metals extended their longest weekly rally in three years. Fujitsu rose on a Nikkei report that the company is looking to sell its mobile phone business amid stiff competition.
Both the S&P/ASX and All Ordinaries were up 0.4 percent. BHP shares climbed after the company announced it would sell its US shale assets. Rio Tinto added and Fortescue Metals Group also advanced. Sydney Airport Holdings and Oil Search rallied after reporting strong half-year results. Seven Group Holdings was higher despite the company reporting a 77 percent fall in its full-year profit, weighed down by writedowns in its struggling television arm.
The Kospi was up 0.4 percent as tensions eased on the Korean peninsula. The Sensex edged up 0.1 percent.
Looking forward
Japan, France, Germany, the Eurozone and the US post August flash manufacturing PMI. The Eurozone reports flash EC consumer confidence for August. In the US, July new home sales will be released.
Global Stock Markets

*Note — all releases are listed in local time.

Source: Fidelity

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