US markets end mostly in green on Tuesday

18 Sep 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday amid optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. After moving mostly higher early in the session, markets gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The Dow and the S&P 500 reached new record intraday highs in early trading but subsequently pulled back near the unchanged line. On the sectoral front, oil service stocks moved sharply higher along with the price of crude oil, resulting in a 3.2 percent spike by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. Significant strength was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index ended the session at its best closing level in two months.

On the economic data front, a report released by the National Association of Home Builders showed homebuilder confidence in the U.S. improved by slightly more than expected in the month of September. The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose to 41 in September from 39 in August. Street had expected the index to inch up to 40. The increase breaks a string of four consecutive monthly declines, with the index rebounding from its lowest level since hitting 37 last December. The slightly bigger than expected increase by the headline index came as the component measuring sales expectations in the next six months jumped to 53 in September from 49 in August.

Nasdaq rose 35.93 points or 0.2 percent to 17,628.06 and S&P 500 was up by 1.49 points or 0.03 percent to 5,634.58, while Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 15.9 points or 0.04 percent to 41,606.18.