Tech, housing help lift Wall St as investors await Fed

The dollar fell broadly Tuesday as investors looked ahead to a speech from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen later in the week.

Markit also said that the French manufacturing PMI ticked down to 48.5 in August from 48.6 last month, compared to expectations for a rise to 48.8.

On Wall Street, the Dow .DJI had ended Monday down 0.12 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.06 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC added 0.12 percent. It was a similar story in Europe, with stocks giving up early gains to end the session lower.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.3 per cent in slow trade.

With the USA earnings season winding down, investors are also turning their focus to the likelihood of an interest rate hike in the coming months.

The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 18.74 points, or 0.36 percent, at 5,263.34, after hitting an all-time intraday high of 5275.74. South Korean shares rose 0.4 percent and foreign investors turned buyers before the closing bell.

Investors also were playing a waiting game ahead of a retreat of Fed central bankers and economists at Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday, where Yellen will be watched for hints about USA monetary policy.

The S&P 500 .SPX was up 6.64 points, or 0.3 percent, at 2,189.28.

Biotech stocks received a boost from Pfizer’s PFE.N $14 billion acquisition of cancer drug maker Medivation MDVN.O , which jumped almost 20 percent.

The S&P 500 topped its previous record close and was just below its intraday record. On the downside, the current range is defined by the August 8th $1,335.3 low, which was tested and held on Monday. Oil extended its biggest loss in three weeks before the release of US crude inventory data.

The ICE dollar index slipped 0.2% to 94.362. It hit a two-month high of $US51.22 on Friday.

Brent crude was off 12 cents at $US49.04 a barrel. “This may keep the dollar capped this week, but we think a strong dollar rally is coming” as Fed officials including Fischer have signaled the prospect of renewed tightening this year.

USA dollar is a tad lower in the Asian trading session, with Sterling getting some breathing space. United States crude futures fell 49 cents to US$46.92, after the September contract expired yesterday at US$47.05.

As a result the Euro to US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate was prompted to return to a downtrend, failing to find support on the back of better-than-expected German Producer Price Index figures.

The New Zealand dollar blipped higher after the country’s central bank forecast another 35 basis points in possible rate cuts, less than many investors had wagered on.

But the biggest boost was from the technology index’s 0.55 per cent gain, powered by Apple and Microsoft among others.