Wall Street ends choppy session mixed
|- New tariffs against China go into effect on Wednesday.
- Fed voices concerns over trade policy, industrials fall sharply.
- Energy outperforms other major sectors.
Major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day relatively quiet despite the escalating political tensions in the U.S. and fluctuated in the remainder of the session before closing the day on a mixed note.
The FOMC on Wednesday published the minutes of the July 31 - August 1 meeting which highlighted rising concerns over the Trump administration's trade policy. Commenting on the publication, "there wasn't much of a surprise other than that they heightened trade as a risk to the economy and they felt pretty confident inflation will remain low and wage growth will pick up," Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, White House confirmed that the U.S. Treasury's David Malpass, undersecretary for International Affairs, would be meeting Chinese officials today but stated that they had no plans to postpone the $16 billion worth of additional on Chinese imports that is scheduled to go into effect at midnight. The trade-sensitive S&P 500 Industrials Index lost nearly 1% on the day.
On the other hand, crude oil prices gained traction with the barrel of West Texas Intermediate extending its recovery to $68 mark and the S&P 500 Energy Index added 1.2% on the day to become the best performing sector of the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 87.13 points, or 0.34%, to 25,735.16, the S&P 500 dropped 0.68 points, or 0.02%, to 2,862.28 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 31.88 points, or 0.41%, to 7,891.06.
DJIA technical outlook via FXStreet Chief Analyst Valeria Bednarik
The Dow settled at the lower end of its weekly range, and the last two daily candles show long upward wicks, a sign that bulls keep pushing but are unable to beat sellers determination. The Momentum indicator in the mentioned chart lacks directional strength, holding flat above its 100 level, while the RSI consolidates but near overbought readings, as the index continues developing well above its moving averages, all of which maintains the risk leaned to the upside.
Shorter term, and according to the 4 hours chart, the index is poised to extend its recent decline, as it settled below its 20 SMA, while technical indicators are piercing their midlines. The downward momentum will likely be clearer on a break below 25,681, the daily low and the immediate support.
Support levels: 25,681 - 25,631 - 25,578.
Resistance levels: 25,752 - 25,800 - 25,849.
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