US stocks will be in focus today, ahead of durable goods orders report scheduled for release later in the day.
Context: US stocks trended higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 recording new highs.
Details: Market enthusiasm took a hit earlier in the session after data showed a steep decline in US consumer confidence in August. As the day progressed, investors focused on strong recovery prospects of various companies, which lifted the major indices to new record highs.
The US Conference Board announced a decline in consumer confidence to 84.8 in August, versus a revised reading of 91.7 for July. Economists, on the other hand, were expecting a reading of 93.0.
Sentiment was supported by US and China officials reaffirming their commitment to the previously signed trade agreement.
In other economic reports, home prices in the US continued to improve, with the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller price index rising 3.5% year-over-year in June.
Meanwhile, a major reshuffle of the Dow Jones index will take place at the end of August, which will see Salesforce.com, Amgen Inc. and Honeywell International joining the 30-stock index on August 31.
Shares of Palo Alto Networks Inc. declined by over 2% despite the company reporting better-than-expected quarterly results. Shares of Children’s Place Inc. nosedived by around 19% after the apparel retailer posted a higher-than-expected loss for the second quarter.
The S&P 500 index gained 0.4% to close at 3,443.62 on Tuesday, notching its 17th record finish for the year. The Nasdaq 100 also logged its 38th record close for the year, adding 86.75 points to settle at 11,466.47.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones index slipped 0.2% to settle at 28,248.44 following a decline in the shares of Apple and Boeing.
What to watch: Investors await data on durable goods orders. Analysts expect durable goods orders to rise 4.3% in July, versus a 7.3% increase in June.
Markets will continue to monitor the Covid-19 numbers, with total cases surging past 5.7 million in the US.
Other Markets: European indices were trading higher at 8:30am GMT, with the STOXX Europe 600, French 40 and Dax 30 index up by 0.2%, 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively.