US: Stocks close higher after four-day slump
WALL Street stocks mostly ended higher on Tuesday (Dec 20), recovering from a four-day slump as investors tried to look past market uncertainty and fears of a slowdown.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 0.3 per cent to 32,849.74 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was nearly flat at 10,547.11.
The broad-based S&P 500 ticked up 0.1 per cent to 3,821.62.
These came despite a slight policy shift by the Bank of Japan, away from a long-standing ultra-loose monetary policy.
The move followed rising rates by other central banks such as the US Federal Reserve, adding to concerns of a slowdown.
The Japanese monetary policy changes appeared to have a negative impact on the dollar, said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities.
“The weaker dollar may have attracted some buying this morning and some bargain hunting,” he added.
For now, investors are shifting focus to companies that are reporting their results before the Christmas holiday, with Nike and FedEx expected to do so after the bell.
Market watchers will also be eyeing existing home sales data due Wednesday and readings for the Fed’s preferred inflation measure expected on Friday. AFP
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