Wall Street weighed by Brexit, US data and earnings

Benchmarks on Wall Street ended lower Tuesday with a barrage of corporate earnings reports and Brexit headlines. The S&P 500 index lost 10.73 points, or 0.36%, to 2,995.99 while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 58.69 points, or 0.72%, to 8,104.30.  However, The Dow Jones Industrial Average, DJIA, lost 39.54 points, or 0.15%, to 26,788.10, on the back of poor and disappointing third-quarter results from McDonald’s and Traveler Cos which outweighed beats from United Technologies UTX, +2.21%  and Procter & Gamble PG, +2.60%.

US data

As for US data, the US Richmond Fed manufacturing index jumped from -9 in September to +8 October – its highest reading since April.

"Gains were broad-based to boot, with shipments and orders up in the month. Employment was broadly unchanged. However, it’s a little early to call a turn in manufacturing momentum or a floor in the slowdown for that matter as these data are highly volatile. But at face value, it suggests the national ISM index could tick up in October, albeit from a weak (contractionary) read of 47.8 last month," analysts at ANZ Bank explained. 

"US home sales fell 2.2% m/m in September, below market expectations for a 0.7% dip. However, these data are noisy. "And looking through that noise an upward trend remains in place. Lower mortgage rates are supporting and the recent lift in mortgage applications suggests there’s a little more strength in the pipeline," the analysts at ANZ Bank explained. 

DJIA levels

The DJIA remains below the 27000s and the technical picture remains neutral while the price hovers over the 21-DMA. However, on the downside, the 21 and 50-day moving averages are guarding a run to the 200-day moving average, down in the 26000s. The bulls need to advance to the 27500s targets on a break of the 27200s. The trend-line resistance guards the July highs.