How are energy investors positioned?
* S&P 500 index climbs as Mnuchin confirms trade talks
* Sterling gains on bets court ruling cuts immediate Brexit
* U.S. consumer confidence plunges in September
* Oil prices fall due to weak economic data, Saudi output
recovery
(Updates with open of U.S. markets, changes dateline previous
London)
By Lewis Krauskopf
NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Hopes for rekindled trade
talks between the United States and China supported stock
markets on Tuesday, while the British pound firmed as the UK
Supreme Court ruled Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to
suspend parliament was unlawful.
Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index rose but pulled back
from sharper gains after disappointing data on consumer
confidence that also put pressure on the U.S. dollar.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday that
he and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would meet
with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He for trade talks in two weeks,
after waning optimism on trade had hit the stock market on
Friday. “The tone around trade is really setting the table for
markets today, both domestically and globally,” said Art Hogan,
chief market strategist at National Securities in New York.
A report showed that U.S. consumer confidence fell by the
most in nine months in September, far more than expected, as
Americans' economic outlooks darkened in the face of the
U.S.-China trade war. Investors have pointed generally to U.S. consumer strength
as a reason to be optimistic about the economy despite questions
otherwise about a potential downturn.
“On balance, the economic data today in the United States
was mildly disappointing,” Hogan said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 72.58 points,
or 0.27%, to 27,022.57, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 8.51 points,
or 0.28%, to 3,000.29 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
1.60 points, or 0.02%, to 8,110.86.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.15% and
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained
0.19%.
German business morale rose in September for the first time
in six months but Europe's largest economy was still likely
slipping into recession, the Ifo economic institute said.
Sterling gained after the court ruling, but uncertainty over
a possible general election and the eventual outcome of
Britain's impending exit from the European Union capped its
rise. Some investors bet that the court's decision would reduce
the probability of Britain leaving the European Union without a
transaction agreement on Oct. 31.
The pound was up 0.36% GBP= against the dollar.
The dollar index .DXY , which measures the greenback
against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.08%, with the
euro EUR= up 0.07% to $1.0999. Benchmark 10-year U.S. notes US10YT=RR last rose 11/32 in
price to yield 1.6714%, from 1.708% late on Monday.
Oil prices fell after weak manufacturing data from Europe
and Japan focused market attention on a gloomy outlook for
demand and as Saudi Arabia managed to restore oil output faster
than anticipated following recent attacks on its facilities.
U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 1.76% to $57.61 per barrel and Brent
LCOcv1 was last at $62.47, down 1.98% on the day.
Global earnings https://tmsnrt.rs/2mKIvsF
World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
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