On 31 July, 2017 – Stocks were mixed Monday

Investors were waiting for a slew of earnings and economic reports to be released during the week.
United States
Stocks were mixed Monday in choppy trading. The Dow Jones industrials gained 0.3 percent to set a new closing high. However, the S&P was down 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq lost 0.4 percent. Traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the monthly jobs report on Friday along with other key economic data. For July, the Dow was up 2.5 percent, the S&P gained 1.9 percent and the Nasdaq jumped 3.4 percent. Analysts said that improved earnings were the main driver for July’s gains.
Immunogen, Clovis and Intercept Pharmaceuticals retreated. Facebook retreated after a broker downgrade. Alphabet also declined. Charter Communications were up after it said it wasn’t interested in acquiring Sprint. Discovery Communications retreated after it agreed to acquire Scripps Networks Interactive. Boeing advanced on a broker upgrade. Apple, which is expected to report quarterly results after market close on Tuesday, was lower. Snap was down as some investors were allowed for the first time to sell shares following the Snapchat owner’s March initial public offer.
June pending home sales index posted a gain after three straight declines. July Chicago PMI reading eased to 58.9 from 65.7 in June.
These data reflect observations at 4:00 PM US ET. Gold at the afternoon London fixing was up US$2.65 to US$1,267.55. Copper futures were up 0.6 percent to US$2.89. WTI spot crude was up 53 US cents to US$50.24. Dated Brent spot crude was up 13 US cents to US$52.65. The US dollar was down against the yen, euro, pound, Swiss franc and the Australian dollar. The currency advanced against the Canadian dollar. The Dollar Index was down 0.6 percent. The yield on US Treasury 30 year bond was down 1 basis point to 2.89 percent while the yield on the 10 year note was unchanged at 2.29 percent.
Europe
Stocks were mixed Monday and for July. The FTSE was up 3.63 points and the SMI added 0.3 percent. However, the CAC and DAX retreated 0.7 percent and 0.4 percent respectively. For the month of July, the FTSE (up 0.8 percent) and SMI (up 1.5 percent) advanced while the CAC (down 0.5 percent) and DAX (down 1.7 percent) declined.
HSBC pared gains to close higher after Europe’s biggest bank said profit grew 5 percent in the first half and announced its third buy-back in a year. Standard Chartered, which reports results on Wednesday, also rose. Imperial Brands and British American Tobacco were down after the US Food and Drug Administration’s announcement Friday that it would cut nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels. Severn Trent advanced on broker upgrades.
United Utilities also jumped after an upgrade. Rolls Royce declined on reports the company had told investors it might not hit its target of £1 billion in cash flow by 2020. Miners including Anglo American, BHP Billiton and copper miner Antofagasta advanced. Sanofi declined after second-quarter net profit declined 10 percent to €1.04 billion on higher restructuring costs. Carrefour declined on a broker downgrade.
Eurozone July harmonized index of consumer prices was up 1.3 percent on the year for a second month. Other reports on German retail sales, unemployment and Eurozone unemployment also showed an improving economy.
Asia Pacific
Asian stocks were mixed Monday as geopolitical tensions escalated, US political uncertainty deepened and China’s manufacturing and service sector PMI readings were slightly lower in July.
The Shanghai Composite was up 0.6 percent while the Hang Seng index was up 1.3 percent. China’s manufacturing sector continued to expand in July, albeit at a slower pace, according to the CFLP PMI reading of 51.4, down from 51.7 in June. The non-manufacturing PMI was 54.5, down from 54.9 in the previous month. For the month of July the Shanghai Composite gained 2.5 percent while the Hang Seng soared 6.1 percent.
The Nikkei and Topix both were down 0.2 percent on the last day of July. In July, the indices were down 0.5 percent and up 0.4 percent respectively. Fanuc tumbled despite the company upgrading its earnings forecast. SoftBank retreated after Charter Communications said it was not interested in acquiring US wireless carrier Sprint. Hitachi, Seiko Epson and steelmakers were higher. June industrial output was up a seasonally adjusted quarterly 1.6 percent after tumbling 3.6 percent in May.
Both the S&P/ASX and All Ordinaries added 0.3 percent as higher commodity prices lifted resources stocks and the Melbourne Institute’s inflation indicator rose slightly, offering further evidence of a pick-up in inflationary pressures. BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group jumped thanks to a multi-year high reading from China’s construction sector. Energy majors Woodside Petroleum and Origin Energy were higher as oil prices hit two-month high amid the threat of sanctions against OPEC-member Venezuela. For July, the S&P/ASX was virtually unchanged while the All Ordinaries added 0.2 percent.
The Kospi edged up 0.1 percent and was 0.5 percent higher in July. The Sensex was 0.6 percent higher Monday and was 5.2 percent higher for the month.
Looking forward
July manufacturing PMIs will be released for China, Japan, India, France, Germany, Eurozone, UK and US. The Reserve Bank of Australia will announce its monetary policy decision. The Eurozone will report its flash estimate of second quarter gross domestic product. In the US, June personal income and spending, July ISM manufacturing index and construction spending will be reported.
Global Stock Markets

*Note — all releases are listed in local time.

Source: Fidelity

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