The main US stock indexes finished trading without a single dynamics

Major US stock indexes ended the session in different directions after US Secretary of Commerce Wilber Ross called China's technological strategy in 2025 a "direct threat" and hinted at actions against Beijing.

A certain pressure on the indices was also provided by the US data. Data for January indicated another solid expansion of business activity in the private sector in the US, supported by the fastest growth in new orders within 5 months. At the same time, production continued to grow much faster than the activity of the service sector. The combined PMI index from IHS Markit for the US was 53.8 in January, compared with 54.1 in December, and showed the least noticeable pace of business expansion since May 2017. Nevertheless, the index for today remains above the threshold level of 50.0 for 23 consecutive months.

Meanwhile, home sales in the US fell more than expected in December, as housing supply in the market fell to a record low, pushing up prices and probably alienating some buyers. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said that home sales in the secondary market declined in December by 3.6%, to 5.57 million units (seasonally adjusted and in annual terms). Meanwhile, the November sales were revised from 5.81 million to 5.78 million units, which is still the highest since February 2007. Economists predicted that housing sales in December will decrease only to 5.70 million units.

Most components of the DOW index recorded a rise (19 out of 30). The leader of growth was the shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS, + 2.05%). Outsider were shares of General Electric Company (GE, -2.22%).

Most sectors of S & P showed an increase. The commodities sector grew most (+ 1.0%). The largest decrease was shown by the sector of conglomerates (-0.6%).

At closing:

DJIA + 0.16% 26.252.19 +41.38

Nasdaq -0.61% 7,415.06 -45.23

S & P -0.05% 2.837.59 -1.54