Major US stock indexes ended trading almost unchanged

Major US stock indexes are near zero, as investors expected new reports about the US-China trade negotiations, while quarterly results of retailers such as Target Corp. exceeded expectations. (TGT) and Kohl’s Corp. (KSS), supported the market.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview with the media that President Donald Trump would reject any trade deal that was not perfect, but added that the United States would continue to work on the agreement.

Market participants also analyzed a number of macroeconomic reports and comments from several Fed representatives. Sales of new homes in the United States unexpectedly showed a marked increase in December, the Commerce Department reported. According to the report, in December, sales of new homes jumped 3.7%, to an annual level of 621,000 units, after rising 9.1% to a revised level of 599,000 units in November. Economists had expected sales to fall to 600,000 from 657,000, which were originally reported in the previous month. Despite the monthly increase, the Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes in December fell by 2.4% compared with the same month a year ago.

Meanwhile, the report of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) pointed to a marked improvement in business activity in the services sector in February. According to the report, the index of business activity in the US services sector, calculated by ISM, rose in February to 59.7 points compared to 56.7 points in January. Analysts predicted that the figure will rise to 57.3 points.

Most of the components of DOW finished trading in positive territory (16 of 30). The growth leader was UnitedHealth Group (UNH; + 2.78%). Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA; -2.44%) was an outsider.

Most sectors of the S & P recorded an increase. The technological sector grew the most (+ 0.4%). The largest decline was shown by the conglomerate sector (-0.6%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 25,806.63 -13.02 -0.05%

S & P 500 2,789.65 -3.16 -0.11%

Nasdaq 100 7,576.36 -1.21 -0.02%