Stocks mixed as traders digest economic data, Trump-Putin summit
Stocks were mixed on Monday as traders digested the latest economic data and earnings reports while interpreting the developments coming out of the summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 44.95 points to 25,064.36. The S&P 500 dipped 2.88 points to 2,798.43. The Nasdaq Composite was down 20.26 points at 7,805.72.
The two leaders met in Helsinki to discuss various issues. Meanwhile, earnings season continues in full force. On Friday, it kicked off in earnest with three U.S. banks releasing their latest quarterly results. Both BlackRock and Bank of America released their second-quarter results on Monday morning.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5969.34 | +20.63 | +0.35% |
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 44296.51 | +426.16 | +0.97% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 19003.651134 | +31.23 | +0.16% |
Economic data released Monday morning included a reading on the U.S. consumer and New York’s manufacturing activity. The latest data suggests that the U.S. consumer is very healthy – June retail sales grew at 0.5% while the May reading was revised to 1.3% from the previously reported 0.8%. The Empire State manufacturing index fell after hitting an eight-month high, declining 2.4 points to 22.6 in July. U.S. business inventories increased by 0.4% in May.
Asian shares were lower on Monday after data from China showed the world's second-largest economy slowed slightly in the second quarter, and as investors remain cautious over the impact of the heated Sino-U.S. trade war.
China's economy grew 6.7% in the second quarter of 2018, in line with market expectations, and cooling a bit from the 6.8% growth registered in each of the previous three quarters.
The Shanghai Composite closed down 0.6%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng finished the day little changed.
Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday.
In Europe, stocks were mixed.
U.S. stocks wrapped up a winning week on Friday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing above the psychologically significant 25,000-point milestone, a one-month high. The S&P 500, the broadest measure of stocks, reached a five-month high and the Nasdaq Composite even better, setting a record. A string of new records for some big tech names helped drive the momentum as Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook and Google each hit all-time highs Friday.
Monday, oil futures slid and gold closed at its lowest price since July 2017.
FOX Business’ Ken Martin contributed to this article..