Stocks and index ETFs are attempting to rally back on Tuesday afternoon following a less enthusiastic consumer confidence report that underscored a split between how Wall Street sees the economy versus the general public, following a recent peak in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 174 points, or 0.6%, to roughly 28,135, while S&P 500 index was more or less flat before attempting to climb back toward its overnight high in futures, after briefly hitting an intraday all-time high at 3,439.16 in the index. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 24 points or 0.2%.
The S&P 500 rallied 34.12 points, or 1%, to close at a record 3,431.28 on Monday, while Nasdaq Composite also ended historically, advancing 67.92 points, or 0.6%.
“Households are becoming more cautious in their outlook for continued healing of the economy,” wrote Kathy Bostjancic, chief U.S. financial economist at Oxford Economics, in a research report.
“This could slow consumer spending relative to the rather strong rebound over the past few months,” she said.
Poor confidence numbers were offset by a sanguine outlook on foreign relations, as analysts noted a positive sentiment in global equity markets following a phone call between the U.S. and Chinese officials regarding the status of the partial trade agreement amid heightening tensions over China’s treatment of Hong Kong and other issues.
The U.S. said both sides “see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement.” The call came after plans for a discussion earlier this month were postponed.
“Given the exchanges between the two countries recently have been negative, any small bit of positivity is seen as a big step forward, even when it isn’t,” said David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets, in a note. “The Chinese government is still well behind on their commitments to purchase US goods, but to be fair, some of that is down to the pandemic.”
For investors looking to use ETFs to employ capital in China to take advantage of growth opportunities, can look to the VanEck Vectors China Growth Leaders ETF (GLCN). GLCN seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MarketGrader China All-Cap Growth Leaders Index.
For domestically inclined investors, the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEArca: DIA),and iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: IVV) are good places to start.
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