The main US stock indexes finished trading mostly in positive territory, while the S & P 500 reached a 5-month high, which was supported by the growth of financial stocks on the background of positive quarterly results.

The focus was also on the United States. As it became known, in June, the bookmarks of new homes in the US fell to a 9-month low, and construction permits fell for the third month in a row, striking at the housing market, which is struggling with an acute shortage of real estate available for sale. In June, the bookmarks of new homes fell 12.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual level of 1.173 million units. This was the lowest level since September 2017.

Meanwhile, in the Fed's beige book, which is a report on the economic situation in the regions, it was reported that producers in the US expressed concern about the introduction of new import duties, and many of them noted the increased costs and interruptions in supplies. In 10 out of 12 regions of the United States, moderate or modest economic growth was noted, judging from the information that was reported in the report, collected before 9 July. Many companies reported uncertainty related to the situation in foreign trade. Nevertheless, the Fed's report showed that the consequences of import duties have not yet fully manifested, in addition to worsening the mood of some companies. Meanwhile, the growth rate of employment in most regions ranged from modest to moderate, the Beige Book said, and the price increase in all regions over the reporting period was on average moderate to moderate.

Most of the components of DOW finished trading in the red (16 of 30). The leader of growth was UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH, + 2.04%). Outsider were the shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, -1.14%).

Most sectors of the S & P recorded a rise. The financial sector grew most (+ 1.1%). The largest decline was in the consumer goods sector (-0.5%).

At closing:

Index

Dow 25.199.29 +79.40 +0.32%

S&P 500 2,815.62 +6.07 +0.22%

Nasdaq 100 7,854.4 -0.67 -0.01%

U.S. stock-index futures were little changed on Wednesday, hovering near five-month highs, as market participants digested a slew of earnings while awaiting the release of the Fed's Beige Book, as well as the second part of Powell's Congressional hearing.

Global Stocks:

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

Twitter (TWTR) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie

Morgan Stanley (MS) reported Q2 FY 2018 earnings of $1.30 per share (versus $0.87 in Q2 FY 2017), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $1.10.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $10.610 bln (+11.6% y/y), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $10.052 bln.

The company also declared an increase in quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share (from $0.25 per share) and a share repurchase of up to $4.7 bln of common stock beginning in the third quarter of 2018 through the end of the second quarter of 2019.

MS rose to $50.60 (+2.89%) in pre-market trading.