Stock Market Today: A Little Trade Sunshine Helps Stocks Grow
The U.S. and China recommitted to their 'Phase 1' trade agreement Tuesday, lifting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
Stocks put up a mixed performance Tuesday as investors weighed encouraging news on the trade front with discouraging consumer data.
Top U.S. and Chinese trade officials, in their first formal dialogue in more than three months, reaffirmed their commitment to their "Phase 1" trade deal. That helped calm investor anxieties following several recent political provocations.
Also Tuesday, housing market stocks received yet another parcel of good news as the Commerce Departed reported a 13.9% rise in new single-family home sales during July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 901,000 units.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
"The reading was above the Reuters consensus forecast of 785,000 and the strongest since December 2006," notes Argus Research.
However, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index plunged from a revised 91.7 in July to 84.8 in August, a six-year low.
"Amid a resurgence in COVID-19 cases over the summer, states have had to partially reverse or delay reopening measures, which have likely weighed on households' income and employment prospects," writes Pooja Sriram, Vice President, US Economist at Barclays Investment Bank. "In addition, in the absence of additional fiscal stimulus measures, some government assistance programs to households and businesses have been pared down, while others are due to expire soon, making business and income prospects less favorable.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2% to 28,248. Three of the biggest weights on the index – Exxon Mobil (XOM, -3.1%), Pfizer (PFE, -1.1%) and Raytheon Technologies (RTX, -1.5%) – had special reason to slide today. S&P Dow Jones Indices last night announced that those three stocks will be booted from the Dow Jones Industrial Average next week.
The Nasdaq Composite (+0.8% to 11,466) and S&P 500 (+0.4% to 3,443), meanwhile, both pressed further into record territory thanks to gains from Facebook (FB, +3.5%) and Amazon.com (AMZN, +1.2%), among others. The small-cap Russell 2000 edged 0.2% higher to 1,571.
Where's the (Safe) Cash?
While the broad market continues plumping up, its yield continues to be pinched. The S&P 500 now yields a measly 1.7% – not just because of rising stock prices, but because some companies have been slow to raise their payouts, while others have been forced to cut or suspend their dividends.
Thus, while yield matters, it's vital to evaluate income positions for their safety, too.
Investors sometimes are content with a long-enough track record of dividend growth, like what you'll find among the Dividend Aristocrats, all of which have improved their payouts for a minimum of 25 straight years. So far in 2020, just one (former) component of the 60-plus-member group has announced a negative dividend action.
But it's also worth looking under the hood to get an idea of their ability to keep writing dividend checks.
These 10 dividend stocks have extremely conservative payout management, paying out a small percentage of their profits as dividends. That, as well as notable dividend growth over the past decade or so, are reasons to trust that they will continue to dole out cash regularly going forward.
Kyle Woodley was long AMZN and FB as of this writing.
-
Nasdaq Sinks 418 Points as Tech Chills: Stock Market TodayInvestors, traders and speculators are growing cooler to the AI revolution as winter approaches.
-
23 Last-Minute Gifts That Still Arrive Before ChristmasScrambling to cross those last few names off your list? Here are 23 last-minute gifts that you can still get in time for Christmas.
-
The Rule of Compounding: Why Time Is an Investor's Best FriendDescribed as both a "miracle" and a "wonder," compound interest is simply a function of time.
-
Stocks Chop as the Unemployment Rate Jumps: Stock Market TodayNovember job growth was stronger than expected, but sharp losses in October and a rising unemployment rate are worrying market participants.
-
AI Stocks Lead Nasdaq's 398-Point Nosedive: Stock Market TodayThe major stock market indexes do not yet reflect the bullish tendencies of sector rotation and broadening participation.
-
Small Caps Hit a New High on Rate-Cut Hope: Stock Market TodayOdds for a December rate cut remain high after the latest batch of jobs data, which helped the Russell 2000 outperform today.
-
UNH Sparks a 408-Point Surge for the Dow: Stock Market TodayThe best available data right now confirm both a slowing employment market and a December rate cut, a tension reflected at the equity index level.
-
Stocks Bounce Back With Tech-Led Gains: Stock Market TodayEarnings and guidance from tech stocks and an old-school industrial lifted all three main U.S. equity indexes back into positive territory.
-
Dow Slides 427 Points to Open December: Stock Market TodayThe final month of 2025 begins on a negative note after stocks ended November with a startling rally.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Coca-Cola Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayEven with its reliable dividend growth and generous stock buybacks, Coca-Cola has underperformed the broad market in the long term.
-
If You Put $1,000 into Qualcomm Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You Would Have TodayQualcomm stock has been a big disappointment for truly long-term investors.
