U.S. equities were able to rebound from a two-day tumble, fueled by the Turkish economic/currency crisis, getting support from relatively upbeat quarterly results from Dow member Home Depot, Advance Auto Parts and Tapestry, as well as a surprising improvement in small business optimism. Treasury yields ticked higher and the U.S. dollar regained some momentum, following import price data that was in line with forecasts. Meanwhile, crude oil prices were mixed and gold inched higher after a 4-day slide.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) increased 112 points (0.5%) to 25,300, the S&P 500 Index rose 18 points (0.6%) to 2,840, and the NASDAQ Composite was 51 points (0.7%) higher at 7,871. In moderate volume, 657 million shares were traded on the NYSE and 1.9 billion shares changed hands on the NASDAQ. WTI crude oil ticked $0.16 lower to $67.04 per barrel and wholesale gasoline gained $0.02 to $2.03 per gallon. Elsewhere, the Bloomberg gold spot price inched $0.87 higher to $1,194.66 per ounce, and the Dollar Index—a comparison of the U.S. dollar to six major world currencies—was up 0.3% to 96.72.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index for July surprisingly improved to 107.9, from the prior month’s unrevised 107.2 level, versus the Bloomberg expectation of a dip to 106.8.
The Import Price Index came in flat month-over-month (m/m) for July, in line with projections, and following June’s upwardly revised 0.1% decrease. Compared to last year, prices were up by 4.8%, above forecasts of a 4.5% increase and compared to the previous month’s upwardly revised 4.7% gain.
Treasuries dipped, as the yields on the 2-year and 10-year notes, as well as the 30-year bond, all ticked 1 basis point higher to 2.63%, 2.89% and 3.06%, respectively. The markets continue to grapple with a solid economic/earnings foundation, relatively calm Fed tightening concerns, and the escalated economic/currency crisis in Turkey.
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