Major US stock indexes ended the session in different directions, which was due to corporate news and expectations of the outcome of the Fed meeting.

The S & P 500 and Dow fell against the backdrop of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) stock losses, and Nasdaq hit a record high before the publication of the Alphabet Inc earnings report.

In addition, data from IHS Markit indicated that in July there was further acceleration of business activity growth in the private sector of the United States. Taking into account the seasonal fluctuations, the preliminary composite PMI index rose to 54.2 in July, compared to 53.9 in June, and signaled the strongest expansion rate since January.

However, in June, home sales in the secondary market in the US fell more than expected, as the shortage of homes raised house prices to a record high. The National Association of Realtors said that home sales in the secondary market fell 1.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.52 million units last month.

Oil rose more than 1% after Saudi Arabia, the leading OPEC producer, pledged to reduce its exports to accelerate the rebalancing of global demand and supply. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said his country would limit crude oil exports at 6.6 million barrels per day in August, which is almost 1 million barrels per day lower than a year ago.

Most components of the DOW index recorded a decline (19 out of 30). Outsider were shares of General Electric Company (GE, -1.87%). Caterpillar Inc. was the growth leader. (CAT, + 1.46%).

Most sectors of the S & P index finished trading in the red. The utilities sector showed the greatest decrease (-0.7%). The financial sector grew most (+ 0.4%).

At closing:

DJIA -0.22% 21.532.01 -48.06

Nasdaq + 0.36% 6,410.81 +23.06

S & P -0.10% 2,470.09 -2.45

U.S. stock-index futures were flat, as investors were caution on the first day of the week packed with earnings results and a Federal Reserve interest-rate decision in the U.S. Nearly 200 companies on the S&P 500 are expected to report this week, including Google parent Alphabet Inc. (GOOG), McDonald's Corp.(MCD), AT&T Inc. (T), Facebook Inc.(FB), Coca-Cola Co.(KO), Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN), Intel Corp. (INTC), Procter & Gamble Co.(PG), Exxon Mobil Corp.(XOM) , Chevron Corp.(CVX), Merck & Co.(MRK), etc.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei 19,975.67 -124.08 -0.62%

Hang Seng 26,846.83 +140.74 +0.53%

Shanghai 3,250.49 +12.51 +0.39%

S&P/ASX 5,688.07 -34.77 -0.61%

FTSE 7,386.82 -66.09 -0.89%

CAC 5,128.50 +10.84 +0.21%

DAX 12,190.20 -49.86 -0.41%

Crude $46.16 (+0.85%)

Gold $1,258.00 (+0.25%)

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Honeywell (HON) target raised to $148 from $145 at RBC Capital Mkts

McDonald's (MCD) target raised to $170 from $165 at Telsey Advisory Group

Goldman Sachs (GS) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

Caterpillar (CAT) upgraded to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

Arconic (ARNC) reported Q2 FY 2017 earnings of $0.32 per share, beating analysts' consensus estimate of $0.26.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $3.261 bln (+0.8% y/y), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $3.184 bln.

ARNCrose to $26.50 (+5.12%) in pre-market trading.

July 24

Before the Open:

Arconic (ARNC). Consensus EPS $0.26, Consensus Revenues $3183.65 mln.

After the Close:

Alphabet (GOOG). Consensus EPS $8.28, Consensus Revenues $25639.88 mln.

July 25

Before the Open:

3M (MMM). Consensus EPS $2.59, Consensus Revenues $7857.54 mln.

Caterpillar (CAT). Consensus EPS $1.26, Consensus Revenues $10961.44 mln.

DuPont (DD). Consensus EPS $1.28, Consensus Revenues $7276.73 mln.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX). Consensus EPS $0.20, Consensus Revenues $3664.69 mln.

General Motors (GM). Consensus EPS $1.72, Consensus Revenues $37673.18 mln.

McDonald's (MCD). Consensus EPS $1.62, Consensus Revenues $5964.81 mln.

United Tech (UTX). Consensus EPS $1.77, Consensus Revenues $15241.32 mln.

After the Close:

AT&T (T). Consensus EPS $0.74, Consensus Revenues $39905.09 mln.

July 26

Before the Open:

Boeing (BA). Consensus EPS $2.32, Consensus Revenues $23018.33 mln.

Coca-Cola (KO). Consensus EPS $0.57, Consensus Revenues $9623.31 mln.

Ford Motor (F). Consensus EPS $0.43, Consensus Revenues $37201.07 mln.

After the Close:

Barrick Gold (ABX). Consensus EPS $0.17, Consensus Revenues $2040.12 mln.

Facebook (FB). Consensus EPS $1.11, Consensus Revenues $9193.93 mln.

July 27

Before the Open:

Altria (MO). Consensus EPS $0.86, Consensus Revenues $5021.08 mln.

Intl Paper (IP). Consensus EPS $0.65, Consensus Revenues $5719.91 mln.

MasterCard (MA). Consensus EPS $1.04, Consensus Revenues $2975.49 mln.

Procter & Gamble (PG). Consensus EPS $0.78, Consensus Revenues $15994.03 mln.

Twitter (TWTR). Consensus EPS $0.05, Consensus Revenues $536.55 mln.

Verizon (VZ). Consensus EPS $0.96, Consensus Revenues $29824.90 mln.

After the Close:

Amazon (AMZN). Consensus EPS $1.39, Consensus Revenues $37178.88 mln.

Intel (INTC). Consensus EPS $0.68, Consensus Revenues $14392.81 mln.

Starbucks (SBUX). Consensus EPS $0.55, Consensus Revenues $5755.85 mln.

July 28

Before the Open:

Chevron (CVX). Consensus EPS $0.88, Consensus Revenues $32455.01 mln.

Exxon Mobil (XOM). Consensus EPS $0.86, Consensus Revenues $63158.05 mln.

Merck (MRK). Consensus EPS $0.87, Consensus Revenues $9741.88 mln.

Yandex N.V. (YNDX). Consensus EPS RUB 12.50, Consensus Revenues RUB 22231.33 mln.

European stocks suffered their worst daily fall in three weeks Friday, weighed by strength in the euro, as the flow of corporate quarterly results failed to provide a lift. The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -1.02% was slammed lower by 1% to 380.16. Industrial, tech and the oil-and-gas put in particularly weak performances, as crude-oil prices slumped and as the enthusiasm for technology shares cooled following a sharp, recent rebound for that sector.

U.S. stocks closed lower Friday, with the Dow industrials finishing lower for the week, as General Electric Co.'s GE, -2.92% outlook cast a cloud over earnings season, which is just getting started. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.15% fell 31.71 points, or 0.2%, to close at 21,580.07, with shares of GE falling 2.9% and shares of Chevron Corp. CVX, -1.32% and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS, -0.95% helping to lead blue chips lower.

Asian shares were mostly lower Monday, with stocks in Japan and Australia underperforming notably as further declines in the U.S. dollar continued to weigh on investor sentiment. A fresh pullback in commodity prices also hurt equities, despite the weaker dollar. Many assets in the sector are denominated in the dollar and often rise when the currency falls.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei -44.84 20099.75 -0.22%

TOPIX -3.02 1629.99 -0.18%

Hang Seng -34.12 26706.09 -0.13%

CSI 300 -19.28 3728.60 -0.51%

Euro Stoxx 50 -47.78 3451.71 -1.37%

FTSE 100 -34.96 7452.91 -0.47%

DAX -207.19 12240.06 -1.66%

CAC 40 -81.56 5117.66 -1.57%

DJIA -31.71 21580.07 -0.15%

S&P 500 -0.91 2472.54 -0.04%

NASDAQ -2.25 6387.75 -0.04%

S&P/TSX -81.51 15183.13 -0.53%