U.S. Stocks Tick Higher After Selloff
September 26 2017 - 10:45AM
Dow Jones News
By Marina Force
--S&P 500, Dow industrials rise in early trading
--European stocks edge higher, while Asian shares slip
--Some havens, including gold, decline
Major U.S. indexes opened slightly higher following a selloff in
technology shares and threats from North Korea.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 64 points, or 0.3%, to
22360, as the index bounced back from the losses it suffered Monday
-- its biggest one-day decline since Sept. 5. The S&P 500 added
0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3%.
Shares of technology companies in the S&P 500 rose 0.6%,
putting them among the index's biggest gainers, following a slump
the day earlier.
Chip maker Nvidia rose 3.6%, while software maker Red Hat gained
4.2%.
Tensions with North Korea ramped up Monday after the foreign
minister warned the country would shoot down U.S. warplanes even if
they were outside its airspace. White House officials dismissed
talk of war.
The escalation between North Korea and the U.S. has pressured
major indexes and sent haven assets like gold higher a few times in
recent months.
"Markets do get jolted by these things," said Sat Duhra, a
portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors.
On Tuesday, gold prices were down 0.6% and the dollar rose 0.4%
against the Japanese yen, which tends to rise when markets
slide.
Some investors also were hoping for guidance from the Federal
Reserve, with Chairwoman Janet Yellen scheduled to speak in
Cleveland on Tuesday and Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer speaking
Thursday. Officials last week hinted the central bank would raise
rates once more this year. However, many traders were skeptical the
Fed would provide any clarity.
"I don't think there is going to be an a-ha moment for the
markets after any of the speeches. They [Fed members] tend to move
back and forth between hawkish and dovish, in terms of their
language at least," said Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer
at Penn Mutual Asset Management.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.236%,
according to Tradeweb, from 2.220% Monday. Yields rise as bond
prices fall.
The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the currency against a
basket of 16 others, rose 0.4% Tuesday after closing Monday at its
highest level this month.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was recently up 0.2% after opening in the
red. In Asia, South Korea's Kospi closed down 0.3%, while Japan's
Nikkei Stock Average also fell 0.3%, with tech stocks under
pressure.
Michael Wursthorn and Kenan Machado contributed to this
article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 26, 2017 10:30 ET (14:30 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.