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The S&P 500 Index is down 0.26%, while the Dow Jones is up 0.09% as of today. The Nasdaq 100 Index fell by 0.45%. Stocks are under pressure following a weaker-than-expected U.S. consumer sentiment report and negative global economic outlook due to disappointing Chinese economic data. Recently, the University of Michigan reported a decline in consumer sentiment to 58.6, below expectations of 62.0, indicating rising inflation expectations.
July U.S. retail sales rose by 0.5% month-over-month, slightly below the expected 0.6%, while June was revised upwards to 0.9%. July import prices rose by 0.4%, surpassing the expected 0.1% increase. Conversely, July U.S. industrial production saw a decline of 0.1%, weaker than expected, although June was revised to a gain of 0.4%.
The markets are closely monitoring an upcoming Trump-Putin summit at 3 PM ET, which may influence macroeconomic factors such as tariffs and oil prices. President Trump indicated plans for new tariffs on steel and semiconductors over the next two weeks, with existing tariffs on imports from India set to double.
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