Wall Street Close: Benchmarks wilt from the day's highs, still ended in positive territory
- S&P 500 SPX, +0.90% rising by just 0.9% to 2,868.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 133 points, or 0.6%, to 23,883.
- The Nasdaq Composite added 1.1% to 8,809.
US benchmarks were higher again on Tuesday as investors shrugged off the impending threats of an escalation of the trade wars between the US and China and despite the negative comments from the Federal Reserve's Richard Clarida who hamstrung the market.
The benchmarks came off their highs when Clarida said that the unemployment rate was going to surge to levels not seen since the 1940's. More on that here: Fed's Clarida: Unemployment rate is going to surge to levels not seen since the 1940's – CNBC. Investors had otherwise been cheering the stream of headlines surrounding nations seeking to open up their economies as soon as this month.
- German ministers agree to reopen pubs, restaurants in May
However, the optimism started to wane into the close, and consequently, the benchmarks finished off their highest points with the S&P 500 SPX, +0.90% rising by just 0.9% to 2,868 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 133 points, or 0.6%, to 23,883. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.1% to 8,809.
US data was miserable
Analysts at ANZ Bank noted that the Markit Services PMI for April plummeted to 26.7 pts – its lowest ever reading.
Meanwhile the US April ISM non-manufacturing index fell to 41.8 vs 52.4. Business activity slumped 22 pts to 26.0, new orders fell 20 pts to 32.9 and employment dropped 17 pts to 30.0. Supplier delivery times rose to 78.3 from 62.1pts. Only 11% of industries reported growth.
Trade slows: The US trade deficit increased as both exports and imports fell to their lowest level since November 2016. Goods exports fell 6.7% while imports fell 6.2%. Both imports and exports of cars and cars parts fell sharply in April.
DJIA levels