US Stock Market Overview – Stocks Close Mixed; S&P 500 Closes at an All-time High

 

US stocks were mixed on Tuesday as the Nasdaq continued to surge to fresh highs, dragging the S&P 500 along with it to fresh all-time highs. The Dow Industrials bucked the trend. Sectors in the S&P 500 index were mixed, driven higher by consumer staples, energy shares bucked the trend. Better than expected financial results from Walmart released on Tuesday before the opening bell, helped buoy the consumer staples sector. Large-cap technology shares continued to drive the Nasdaq higher. The VIX volatility index continued its trend lower as complacency sets in. The dollar moved lower on Tuesday breaking down to a 2-year low, helping to buoy gold prices which helped the gold miners rally. Housing starts came in stronger than expected. US yields moved lower, following commentary from Walmart that spending declined as the stimulus checks ran out.

Housing Start Climb More than Expected

The commerce department reported that US Housing starts increased by 22.6% to an annual rate of 1.496 million units last month. Expectations were for Housing Starts to climb to a rate of 1.24 million units for July. The June figures were revised up to a 1.22 million-unit pace from the previously reported 1.186 million.

Walmart Reports Robust Financial Results

Walmart knocked the cover off the ball with better than expected financial results, driven by strong gains in the e-commerce sales. The company said that consumers spent their stimulus checks but sales started to slow as the checks ran out. Walmart reported that e-commerce sales surged 97%. Same-store sales grew at a robust 9.3% in Q2. Expectations were for the company to see same-store sales of 5.4%. Walmart reported earnings per share of $1.56 on revenue of $137.74 billion.

Politics are Heating Up

While the Democrats are having a virtual convention, the Senate released the fifth and final volume of its Russia investigation. According to the report, members of the 2016 Trump campaign represented a major counterintelligence risk to the U.S. due to their frequent contact with individuals with close ties to the Russian government.