US open: Equity markets take tentative step forward, as consumer confidence soars

US stocks edged higher early on Tuesday, as Wall Street looked to bounce back from the previous session’s decline ahead of reports on consumer confidence and the housing market.

Shortly after 1500 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 24 points to 16,025.51, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were two and one point higher respectively.

On Monday, US stocks ended at their lowest level since late last month, as fresh concerns over a slowdown in China weighed on sentiment on both sides of the Atlantic.

Those worries extended to Asian equity markets on Tuesday, with the main benchmarks all firmly in the red, with the Nikkei Stock Average losing 4.05% and turning negative for the year.

Consumer confidence beats expectations

US consumer confidence rose unexpectedly in September, figures released on Tuesday showed.

The index monitoring sentiment among US consumers rose to 103.0 in September, up from 101.3 in the previous month and comfortably above analysts’ expectations for a 97.3 reading.

“While Fed chair Janet Yellen will mainly be focussing on Friday’s unemployment data this week, there is still some significance to the consumer confidence figures released today,” said Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com.

“Broadly in line with expectations, the index points to a level of stability in the world’s largest economy, while the moderate upturn will make for pleasing viewing for Yellen.

US house prices rose less than expected in July, data released on Tuesday showed.

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite index rose from 180.74 in June to 181.90 in July, slightly below the 182.64 reading analysts had expected.

Portland, San Diego and other markets in the west of the US led the increase, although prices slid 0.2% when considering seasonal adjustments.

However, over the last 12 months, prices have risen 5%, driven higher by strong growth in San Francisco and Denver, where prices have surged 10.4% and 10.3% respectively.

In company news, Yahoo! climbed 3.26%, after revealing late on Monday that it was making progress with its plan to spin off its remaining stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which edged 0.84% higher.

Elsewhere, European stocks reversed earlier losses to edge higher in a rather choppy session, while oil prices advanced, with both West Texas Intermediate and Brent gaining 1.1% to $44.93 and $47.89 a barrel respectively.

“Oil has been trading in a tight range this month and may well be coiling up for a big move,” said Brenda Kelly, head analyst at London Capital Group.

“The catalyst will most likely be dollar related rather than the supply/demand drivers.”

The dollar was broadly flat against the yen and the pound but gained 0.15% against the euro, while gold futures slid 0.12% to $1,130.56.