Stock market news: October 16, 2019 – Yahoo Finance

The Dow broke into positive territory during intraday trading Wednesday as investors considered a mixed batch of U.S. economic data, ongoing geopolitical concerns and more corporate earnings. Earlier in the session, all three major indices were in the red.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) led advances in the 30-stock Dow mid-morning, with shares extending gains after beating Wall Street’s expectations in quarterly results Tuesday.

Here were the main moves in the market, as of 11:49 a.m. ET:

• S&P 500 (^GSPC): -0.01%, or 0.32 points

• Dow (^DJI): +0.08%, or 20.80 points

• Nasdaq (^IXIC): -0.17%, or 14.71 points

• Crude oil (CL=F): +1.55% to $53.63 per barrel

• Gold (GC=F): +0.49% to $1,490.80 per ounce

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill broadly supporting pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong. As part of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, the State Department would be required to annually review whether the Hong Kong remained “sufficiently autonomous” from China to justify its special trading status with the U.S. Hong Kong protestors had called for the passage of this legislation, with pro-democracy demonstrations now having continued more than four months in the region.

The bill, passed unanimously by voice vote in the House, lays a framework for sanctions agains officials deemed to undermine freedom and autonomy in Hong Kong. A similar bill is also before the Senate awaiting a floor vote.

China’s Foreign Ministry immediately condemned the House’s passage of the bill and threatened retaliation.

“If the relevant bill is finally passed into law, it will not only harm the interests of the Chinese side, but also damage Sino-U.S. relations, and it will seriously damage the interests of the United States,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement, according to a translation. “With regard to the wrong decision of the U.S. side, China will surely take effective measures to resolutely counteract and firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security, and development interests.”

The rhetoric underscores a broadening scope of issues in which the U.S. and Chinese sides have been at odds, and raises the specter of further complications in trade negotiations.

Meanwhile, brinkmanship continued for other global geopolitical negotiations. European stocks were mixed as prospects for reaching a Brexit deal before a summit in Brussels with EU officials later this week dimmed. British and EU officials had resumed talks on Wednesday after a round of talks that went late into Tuesday, but major sticking points still remain, including whether to retain Northern Ireland as part of the U.K. customs union.

The pound (GBPUSD=X) pared some losses mid-morning in New York to just over $1.27, but remained lower against the dollar from the previous day.

ECONOMY: Retail sales unexpectedly fall in September

Retail sales unexpectedly declined in September, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday, suggesting sluggishness in key domestic consumer activity. This marked the first drop in the headline measure of retail sales in seven months.

Inclusive of all categories, retail sales fell 0.3% in September from August, where an increase of this magnitude had been expected for the month, according to Bloomberg-compiled consensus data. However, August’s headline retail sales were upwardly revised to see a rise of 0.6%, from the 0.4% reported previously.

Beneath the headline, clothing and clothing accessory store sales led advances, with these rising 1.3% for the month. Non-store retailers – namely, e-commerce merchants – saw sales decline on a monthly basis for the first time since December, with these sales falling 0.3% in September.

Excluding more volatile auto and gas sales, retail sales were flat between August and September. Consensus economists had expected to see a gain of 0.3% in this metric. As with the headline figure, retail sales excluding autos and gas were upwardly revised to a 0.4% increase in August, versus the 0.1% reported earlier.