US close: Stocks mostly higher after unexpected rise in consumer confidence

The Dow rose 0.29% to 16,049 points and the S&P increased 0.12% while the Nasdaq dropped 0.59%.

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.

Lifting sentiment in the US on Tuesday, a report showed US consumer confidence rose unexpectedly in September. 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 focusing 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.

On the downside, US house prices rose less than expected in July, another report 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! advanced 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 also gained.

Meanwhile, oil advanced, with both West Texas Intermediate and Brent gaining 1.7% to $45.24 and 1.8% to $48.22 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 weakened against the Japanese yen and the euro, but strengthened against the pound in Tuesday trade.

S&P 500 - Risers

Ensco Plc. (ESV) $14.25 +5.01%

Noble Corporation plc (NE) $10.95 +4.68%

Teradata Corp. (TDC) $29.20 +3.55%

AvalonBay Communities Inc. (AVB) $172.81 +3.33%

Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $1.26 +3.28%

Equity Residential (EQR) $73.55 +3.11%

Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $12.35 +3.00%

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $137.79 +2.91%

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $47.84 +2.88%

Medtronic Plc (MDT) $66.37 +2.87%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Windstream Holdings Inc (WIN) $6.05 -8.89%

Under Armour Inc. Class A (UA) $93.96 -6.78%

ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $30.86 -6.48%

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $21.54 -5.11%

Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $26.40 -4.97%

Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $34.93 -4.46%

Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $25.34 -4.23%

Masco Corp. (MAS) $24.58 -4.06%

CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $9.41 -3.88%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $66.24 -3.58%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers

3M Co. (MMM) $141.55 +2.29%

Visa Inc. (V) $68.53 +1.98%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $93.04 +1.83%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.25 +1.70%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $97.48 +1.58%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $114.22 +1.35%

United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $87.98 +1.32%

General Electric Co. (GE) $24.57 +1.07%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $99.42 +0.94%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $64.31 +0.82%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $109.06 -3.01%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $119.67 -2.02%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $112.91 -1.04%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $171.86 -0.67%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.53 -0.48%

American Express Co. (AXP) $73.10 -0.33%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $59.84 -0.23%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $25.64 -0.08%

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $142.47 -0.04%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $136.63 +2.68%

Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $25.80 +2.42%

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $28.26 +2.39%

Cerner Corp. (CERN) $59.48 +2.29%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $14.38 +2.28%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $278.23 +2.19%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $23.70 +1.72%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.25 +1.70%

Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $31.27 +1.69%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $69.37 +1.64%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $26.40 -4.97%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $66.24 -3.58%

Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $19.35 -3.25%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $109.06 -3.01%

Facebook Inc. (FB) $86.67 -2.85%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $167.36 -2.75%

Mattel Inc. (MAT) $21.03 -2.68%

Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $4.09 -2.62%

Mylan Inc. (MYL) $39.80 -2.59%

Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $67.62 -2.37%