Stocks go nowhere as trade worries overshadow strong economic data

White
House senior adviser Jared Kushner, left, and Vice President Mike
Pence, right, listen as United States Trade Representative Robert
Lighthizer talks with President Donald Trump about a trade
“understanding” between the United States and Mexico, in the Oval
Office of the White House, Monday, Aug. 27, 2018, in
Washington.
AP Photo/Evan
Vucci

Stocks ended little changed Tuesday, after the S&P 500
touched 2,900 for first time, holding close to record highs for a
third straight session. The dollar slipped, and Treasury
yields inched higher. 

Here’s the scoreboard:

Dow Jones industrial
average: 26,060.62 +10.98
(+0.042%)

S&P
500: 2,897.60 +0.86 (-0.024%)

Nasdaq
Composite: 8,030.04 +12.14 (+0.15%)

1. After agreeing to
   resolve key NAFTA disputes with Mexico, the US
   restarted high-level talks with Canada. US
   Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer was expected to
   meet with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland in
   Washington, a day after President Donald Trump
   threatened to terminate the 24-year-old agreement and hit
   Canada with auto tariffs.

2. The US trade deficit in goods
   widened in July for the second straight
   month. The figure measuring trade in goods rose
   to $72.2 billion in July from $67.9 billion the month before,
   according to a preliminary report from the US Census
   Bureau. 
3. Consumer confidence in the
   US jumped to
   its highest level in nearly 18 years. The index
   rose to 133.4 in August from 127.9 the month before, the
   Conference Board said, easily beating economist
   expectations. 
4. Earnings season wraps up. Tiffany
   & Co reported second-quarter earnings that beat
   Wall Street estimates and raised its profit forecast. Best
   Buy, on the other hand, saw online sales growth drop and
   disappointed with third-quarter guidance.

And a look at the upcoming economic calendar:

• Consumer spending numbers and GDP revisions are out in the
  US.