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Stock Market News for Aug 26, 2020

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The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit an all-time high on Tuesday, while the Dow declined amid mixed economic news and decline in heavy weights like Exxon Mobil and Boeing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gave up 60.02 points, or 0.2%, to close at 28,248.44 and the S&P 500 added 12.34 points, or 0.4% to close at 3,443.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 11,466.47, adding 86.75 points, or 0.8%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 1.5%, to close at 22.03. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones for 1.45-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.07-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq favored advancers.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at all-time highs on Tuesday. While the broader index marked its 17th record close in 2020, the tech-laden Nasdaq log its 38th record finish of this year.

Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, six ended in the positive with the communication services sector leading the rally closing nearly 1% higher for the session.

Amgen Inc. (AMGN - Free Report) and Starbucks Corporation (SBUX - Free Report) were the highest gainers of the Nasdaq rising at least 5% for the session. However, the Dow was weighed by steep decline in shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) and The Boeing Company (BA - Free Report) that closed 3.2% and nearly 2%, lower for the day, respectively.

Amgen and Starbucks stocks carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Overall, the S&P 500 posted 27 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 54 new highs and 22 new lows.

Consumer Confidence Tumbles in August

On Aug 25, the US Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index declined to 84.8, much below the consensus estimate of 93 and lower than July’s revised figure of 91.7. Consumer confidence index fell for a second straight month and highlighted that Americans were pessimistic about the short-term economic outlook.

The index fell to a 6-year low this month, a new coronavirus pandemic low, after rise in new coronavirus cases during the summer instilled fear among consumers.

New Home Sales Surged 13-and-Half Year High in July

On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly reported that sales of new single-family houses in July grew at a rate of 901,000, beating the consensus estimate of 785,000. June’s figure was also revised to 791,000, which puts July’s new home sales figure 13.9% higher.

In fact, the pace of new home sales was the highest since 2006 and is up 36.3% from a year ago. The report underlines the fact that the housing sector is leading the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S.-China Trade Talks Sees Progress

The US Ministry of Commerce announced after a telephonic meeting late on Tuesday, that the U.S. and Chinese counterparts discussed the implementation of the historic Phase One Agreement between the two countries. In the call, the representatives addressed structural changes made by China to ensure greater protection for intellectual property rights, remove restrictions on American companies in the areas of financial services and agriculture, and also eliminate forced technology transfer.

In the call attended by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, parties also discussed the significant increases in purchases of U.S. products by China. Both the United States and China sees progress and are committed to take steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement.

Dow to Swap Stocks End of August

Late on Monday, the S&P Dow Jones Indices announced changes in the Dow components at the end of August. salesforce.com, inc. (CRM - Free Report) , the customer relationship management software company will be replacing oil giant Exxon Mobil, while pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. (PFE - Free Report) will be replaced by drugmaker Amgen. Additionally, defense and aerospace giant Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX - Free Report) will be replaced by conglomerate Honeywell International Inc. (HON - Free Report) .

The changes will go into effect on Aug 31, before trading begins. The changes were prompted by Apple’s four-for-one stock split, which will substantially reduce the Dow’s tech-sector weighting.

Stocks that Made Headline

Antero Midstream Updates Guidance: Major Points for Investors

Antero Midstream Corporation (AM - Free Report) recently provided a company presentation, highlighting updates regarding its 2020 guidance. (Read More)

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