At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.01%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.13%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.08%.
The Federal Reserve will announce its latest decision on monetary policy and interest rates on Wednesday, and while many investors are expecting the U.S. central bank to leave its USD85 billion monthly asset-purchasing program unchanged, most remained out of equities markets to await the announcement and accompanying language.
Monthly asset purchases aim to drive recovery by pushing down interest rates, boosting stock prices in the process.
Data released earlier failed to act as a clearly visible market weather vane.
The Federal Reserve reported earlier that U.S. industrial production rose by a 0.6% in September, above expectations for a 0.4% rise and the fastest increase in seven months.
Elsewhere, industry data revealed that U.S. pending home sales fell 5.6% last month, down for the fourth consecutive month and well below market calls for a gain of 0.1%.
Meanwhile on the earnings front, Merck reported profits that beat market expectations, however, revenue missed market consensus, though JCPenney stocks brought up retailers in general after the company issued a bullish sales forecast.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Procter & Gamble, up 1.67%, Coca-Cola, up 1.50%, and Wal-Mart Stores, up 1.48%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Merck, down 2.53%, United Technologies, down 1.40%, and UnitedHealth, down 1.04%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished largely lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.35%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.48%, while Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.08%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.07%.
On Tuesday, the U.S. is to produce data on retail sales as well as its producer price index and a report on consumer confidence.
Posts
0 comments :
Post a Comment