U.S. Consumer Confidence Hits 18-Year High

U.S. stock markets were relatively quiet on Tuesday, but the Asian markets are trading mixed early Wednesday, following the Trump administration’s restatement of its tough stance on trade.

On Tuesday, President Trump reiterated his administration’s stance on trade, telling the United Nations General Assembly that his country would “no longer tolerate abuse” on that front.

Trump issued his statement after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said his country was ready to move ahead on a trade deal with Mexico even if it excluded Canada, as negotiations with Ontario remained at an impasse. “We’re not going to say ‘no deal because of Canada.’ That doesn’t make any sense at all,” he told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

At 0155 GMT, Japan’s NIKKEI Index is trading 23894.69, down 45.57 or -0.19%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 is at 6204.70, up 18.80 or +0.30% and China’s Shanghai Index is at 2787.86, up 6.73 or +0.24%.

U.S. Equity Markets

The major U.S. stock indexes settled mixed on Tuesday with the S&P 500 Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average posting losses, and the NASDAQ Composite finishing slightly better. This was the same way they finished on Monday.

Volume was light all session ahead of Wednesday’s Fed announcements so today’s moves may have been exaggerated somewhat. Shares were pressured by comments from President Trump, who told the UN General Assembly the U.S. “will no longer tolerate abuse” on trade. “We will not allow our workers to be victimized, our companies to be cheated and our wealth to be plundered and transferred,” Trump added.

The blue chip Dow erased a 72.80 point gain to finish 69.84 points lower. The benchmark S&P 500 also finished lower. Losses were led by a drop in utilities stocks due to rising interest rates. However, some of the loss was offset by a surge in energy stocks. The tech-based NASDAQ Composite was supported by strength in Amazon, Apple and Google-parent Alphabet.

U.S. Economic Reports

In the U.S., the housing data was mixed with the monthly HPI rising 0.2% as expected and the annual S&P/CS Composite-20 HPI coming in at 5.9%, below the 6.2% forecast and 6.4% previous read.

The Richmond Manufacturing Index rose to 29 from 24, better than the 22 estimate. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence report came in well above expectations at 138.4. The previous month was also revised higher to 134.7. This was its highest level in about 18 years. The all-time high of 144.7 was reached in 2000.

“Consumers’ assessment of current conditions remains extremely favorable, bolstered by a strong economy and robust job growth,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board. “These historically high confidence levels should continue to support healthy consumer spending, and should be welcome news for retailers as they begin gearing up for the holiday season.”