Materials and consumer discretionary sectors led the market
U.S. stocks moved higher on Tuesday, 06 March 2018, afternoon, following earlier losses, as investors weighed concerns surrounding a possible global trade war and easing tensions between North and South Korea. U.S. stocks closed moderately higher on Tuesday after a session marked by swings in and out of negative territory as investors debated the potential impact of a trade war in the wake of President Donald Trump announcing a pair of tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9.36 points to 24,884.12. The S&P 500 climbed 7.18 points, or 0.3%, to 2,728.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 41.30 points, or 0.6%, to 7,372.01.
Materials and consumer discretionary sectors led the market, while utilities and health care lagged.
Trade continued to be a primary focus for investors, especially as Trump's plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports showed signs of opposition. Stocks have recently been pressured by the prospect of more protectionist trade policies, a headwind that contributed to heavy losses in the major U.S. indexes last week.
Bullion prices ended higher at Comex on Tuesday, 06 March 2018. Gold prices climbed on Tuesday, scoring their highest settlement in two-and-a-half weeks, as the U.S. dollar saw a sharp decline. U.S. stocks were mixed, though gave up most of their earlier gainscontributing to the yellow metal's investment appeal even as concerns surrounding a potential trade war and tensions between North and South Korea appeared to ease.
April gold gained $15.30, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,335.20 an ouncethe highest finish since Feb. 16. The contract has been volatile in recent days considering that gold prices had settled at their lowest levels of the year just last Thursday and recorded the first monthly loss, in February, since October. May silver jumped 37.2 cents, or 2.3%, to $16.784 an ounce.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index traded down 0.6%. A weaker dollar makes commodity priced in the U.S. unit more attractive to investors using another currency.
Crude oil prices settled a few cents higher on Tuesday, 06 March 2018 at Nymex . Prices rose enough to stretch their gains to a third session in a row.
Dollar weakness, persistent declines in output from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and a demand-boost from cold weather in the East offered support. An expected weekly rise in U.S. crude stockpiles and ongoing concerns over rising domestic production, however, also pressured prices.
April West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 3 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $62.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after tallying a rise of 2.6% over the past two sessions. May Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 25 cents, or 0.4%, to $65.79 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange.
Outside of the equity market, U.S. Treasuries finished Tuesday flat, leaving the benchmark 10-yr yield at 2.88%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index closed below 90.00 for the first time in a week, dropping 0.4% to 89.57, and West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished flat at a price of $62.60 per barrel.
Investors received just one economic report on Tuesday, January Factory Orders, which showed a larger-than-expected decline (-1.4% actual vs -1.3% consensus). The key takeaway from the report is that it wasn't so much a reflection of a business downturn as it was a case of some understandable softness on the back of an extended pickup in new order activity.
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