Smaller companies lead US stocks higher as Turkey fears ease

Author: Agencies

US stocks are broadly higher Tuesday morning as worries about Turkey’s currency crisis stabilized. Retailers and smaller companies are making some of the biggest gains. Global markets have taken two days of losses as investors worried that the country’s troubles might spread.

Keeping score

The S&P 500 index climbed 9 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,831 as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 58 points, or 0.2 percent, to 25,246. The Nasdaq composite added 17 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,836. The Russell 2000 index advanced 10 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,686.

The S&P 500 fell a total of 1 percent Friday and Monday as investors worried that Turkey’s financial woes would affect other countries.

Weaving a win

Tapestry, the parent company of Coach and Kate Spade, jumped after its fourth-quarter results surpassed analyst estimates. The stock surged 10 percent to $52.18.

Other retailers reported their results as well. Advance Auto Parts jumped 8.2 percent to $156.65 after its report. Competitor AutoZone picked up 2.4 percent to $746.80 and O’Reilly Automotive rose 1.9 percent to $320.22.

Water working

SJW Group rose 4.7 percent to $65.33 after California Water Service Group made a new offer to buy it. The new bid values the parent of San Jose Water at $70 a share, or $1.44 billion. The company said its board will review the offer.

Cal Water gained 0.1 percent to $40.10. Its previous offer valued SJW Group at $68.25 per share.

Calm

The Turkish lira stabilized as officials from Turkey and the US said the countries are in talks to ease diplomatic tensions which have resulted in high tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum. Economists say Turkey’s central bank still needs to raise interest rates significantly to strengthen its currency. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ruled out that step.

Emerging markets fell Monday on concern that Turkey’s currency turmoil could spread. The Argentine peso and India’s rupee hit record lows against the dollar. Those jitters eased later Tuesday.

Small, but going big

Smaller and medium-sized companies fared better than big US multinationals. Footwear maker Wolverine World Wide gained 0.8 percent to $37.29 and watchmaker Fossil rose 4.1 percent to $25.52.

Boston Beer picked up 2.4 percent to $287.35 and RV maker Thor Industries rose 2.3 percent to 96.82.

Bonds

Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note remained at 2.88 percent.

Overseas

Germany’s DAX dipped 0.1 percent, as did the CAC 40 in France. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 2.3 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.7 percent while Seoul’s Kospi advanced 0.5 percent.

Energy

Benchmark US crude jumped 1.1 percent to $67.97 per barrel in New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 1 percent to $73.30 per barrel in London.

Currency

The dollar rose to 110.84 yen from 110.69 yen. The euro fell to $1.1384 from $1.1394.

Published in Daily Times, August 15^th 2018.