U.S. Consumer Confidence Index Falls; JPMorgan and Wells Fargo in Focus

Nichole Harper
12 Jul, 2013
New York City

Stocks in New York traded sideways after JPMorgan Chase reported higher than expected earnings and Wells Fargo earnings soared 19%. Consumer confidence index declined unexpectedly in July. Gold and oil advanced.

[R]12:30 PM New York – Stocks in New York traded sideways after JPMorgan Chase reported higher than expected earnings and Wells Fargo earnings soared 19%. Consumer confidence index declined unexpectedly in July. Gold and oil advanced.[/R]

U.S. stocks traded sideways after the latest read on consumer confidence showed a decline and banks reported earnings.

The S&P 500 index declined 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose a fraction.

Consumer confidence unexpectedly declined in July, according to the index tracked by Thomson Reuters and University of Michigan.

The index fell to 83.9 in July from 84.1 in June after reaching a 6-year high of 84.5 in May.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures for immediate month delivery increased 70 cents to $105.61 a barrel and gold declined $2.70 to 1,277.20 an ounce.

In bond trading, U.S. Treasury for 10-year maturity yielded 2.584%.

European Markets

European markets traded flat and major markets in the region closed slightly higher.

FTSE 100 index edged up 0.03% and the DAX 30 index gained 0.6%. In Paris, CAC 40 index declined 0.5%.

In London, Invensys soared 15% after Schneider Electric SA offered $5 billion or 3.3 billion pounds for the company.

European Central Bank executive board member Vitor Constancio said slow economic growth in the euro zone implies that monetary police “has to stay accommodative for a long period of time.”

Asian Markets

Asian markets traded sideways and the Nikkei in Tokyo trimmed gains after Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei stated that the world’s second largest economy may grow at a smaller than earlier expected growth of 6.5%.

In Asian markets, Hang Seng index declined 0.8% and Jakarta Composite Index gained 0.8%. Market indexes in mainland China fell 2.2% and in Thailand rose 0.24% but in Seoul fell 0.4%.

U.S. Stocks

Banks were in focus after JP Morgan and Wells Fargo were among several banks reporting earnings.

JPMorgan Chase ((JPM)) gained after the bank reported quarterly earnings of $6.5 billion or $1.60 a share compared to $4.96 billion or $1.21 a share in the quarter a year ago.

Wells Fargo & Company ((WFC)) increased 1.6% or 67 cents to $42.56 after the bank stated net interest income in the second quarter ending in June declined 5% to $11.8 billion. Net income in the quarter surged 19% to $5.3 billion or 98 cents a diluted share compared to $4.4 million or 82 cents.

The bank said total average deposits soared to $1 trillion and home loan applications for the quarter received for $146 billion, lower than $208 billion a year earlier quarter.