Stocks on Wall Street have made small gains after Monday's loss, boosted by the health-care sector, while disappointing readings on consumer confidence and manufacturing limited the climb.Drugstore chain Walgreen's quarterly earnings rose 7.8% on strong g
Stocks on Wall Street have made small gains after Monday’s loss, boosted by the health-care sector, while disappointing readings on consumer confidence and manufacturing limited the climb.
Drugstore chain Walgreen’s quarterly earnings rose 7.8% on strong growth in sales of prescription drugs, as well as wider margins. The stock jumped 11%.
US consumer confidence fell sharply in September to its lowest reading since February, and a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond showed economic activity among manufacturers in the central Atlantic region weakened in September
Near the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 59 points, or 0.55%, to 10,870, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% to 2380.
The S&P 500 index was up 0.5% to 1148, led by healthcare and consumer staples, though the gains were offset by declines in materials and industrials.
Other markets: Europe, Asia down
Most European stock markets finished marginally lower. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended down 0.2% at 262.36.
The UK's FTSE 100 index eked out a gain of 0.1% to 5578.44, France's CAC-40 index declined 0.1% to 3762.35 and Germany's DAX was off less than 0.1% to 6276.09.
Asian markets also declined, with Chinese property developers skidding lower on concerns Beijing may initiate more measures to cool property prices, while Japanese shares were pulled lower by selling in stocks that went ex-dividend.
The Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.1% to 9495.76 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 1% to 22109.95 after rising in 16 of the previous 18 sessions.
Nufarm dropped 3.9% in Sydney on news the farm-chemicals maker swung to a net loss in the year ended July 31. The S&P/ASX fell 0.1% to 4717.04. Other regional markets all slipped less than 1%.
Commodities: Oil steady, gold up
Crude futures wavered between gains and losses as conflicting economic data kept oil firmly in its recent trading range.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery traded steady at $US76.50 a barrel in New York after falling as low as $US75.53 earlier in the session. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 47USc higher at $US79.04 a barrel.
Weaker-than-expected consumer confidence data caused investors to move back into gold as a perceived haven investment.
The closest September delivery contract settled $US9.90, or 0.8%, up at $1306.60 an ounce – a new record.
The most actively traded contract for December delivery was up $US8, or 0.6%, at $US1,306.60 an ounce. It hit $US1308.90, the strongest ever intraday price for a most-actively traded contract.
Currencies: Dollar down, euro up
The dollar weakened broadly after disappointing US economic data sparked a fresh round of speculation that the Federal Reserve could embark soon on a stimulus plan to kick start a flagging economy.
The euro was at $US1.3582, compared with $US1.3471 late on Monday. The dollar weakened to ¥83.83 from ¥84.22. The euro strengthened to ¥113.86 from ¥113.25.
The UK pound moved to $US1.5806 from $US1.5850, after touching $US1.5720, the weakest since May.
