The Dow and the broader stock market turned sharply lower on Tuesday, after President Donald Trump’s speech at the United Nations.
Trump called for fair and reciprocal trade and reiterated his views that China is gaming the system, citing intellectual property theft and currency manipulation.
Stocks pared their gains following Trump’s speech. The Dow fell more than 200 points, or 0.8%, while the S&P 500 was down 1.1%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.7%.
“His speech was a little bit of the hardline side today,” said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade.
All this shows, that “when nothing is known the smallest thing can set the market off,” Kinahan added.
The three major indexes remain out of reach for their July record closing highs. The Dow was 1.5% away from its all-time closing high at Monday’s close, while the S&P sat 1.1% below its own record, according to Refintiv.
The 10-year Treasury yield is slightly lower at 1.647%. Meanwhile, gold and oil futures were edging lower, retracing their upward moves from Monday.
The economic calendar is packed with data points worth looking at Tuesday.
The S&P Case-Shiller home price index came in slightly below the consensus forecast of economists surveyed by Refinitiv. Seasonally adjusted, the index was flat in July, while it grew 0.1% without the adjustment. Year-over-year it’s up 2%.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency house price index rose 0.4% in July to a 5% increase year-over-year.
“Sales of both existing and new homes have firmed since the turn of the year, helped by a plunge in mortgage rates. Building permits and starts have also bounced to cycle highs in recent months, suggesting that housing activity remains quite solid considering how long we are in this cycle,” wrote BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic in a note to clients.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for September dropped to 125.1, far lower than economists’ expectations of 133.5. The report shows that Americans are growing rattled by the impact of the trade war.
