MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Waver As Weak Housing-starts Data Weigh

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Intel falls, but Morgan Stanley is the latest financial to top forecasts

U.S. stocks on Wednesday fought to sustain early gains as stocks weighed strong quarterly report from a major financial institution against weak housing data, which was limiting the market's advance.

Morgan Stanley (MS) rose 0.7% to $32.52 and was one of the biggest gainers among S&P 500 stocks after it reported a profit that beat analyst forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/morgan-stanley-profit-boosted-by-trading-revenue-2016-10-19). The stock was the latest in a string of financials--including Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(GS) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co(JPM)--that topped consensus expectations and boosted equities (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-stocks-point-higher-as-goldman-results-inflation-data-loom-2016-10-18). The S&P financial sector rose 0.5% and was one of the biggest gainers of the day.

The early mood has been upbeat.

"Not only have these financials beat, but they've beat pretty solidly, which has led to some upside," said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17 points, or less than 0.1%, to 18,178, with a 5.4% decline in Intel Corp.(INTC) weighing on the blue-chip gauge. The S&P 500 index was trading little-changed, after trading tepidly higher, at 2,139. The energy sector, up 0.9%, was the best gainer among the S&P 500's 11 sectors as crude-oil prices traded above $51 a barrel (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rise-on-signs-crude-inventories-likely-fell-last-week-2016-10-19). Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 6 points, or 0.1%, to 5,237.

Despite the losses, the major stock-market indexes have mostly been trading within a narrow range ahead of the U.S. presidential election between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump.

"We're not in a bad position, but we haven't made much progress since July, and I don't see that changing with the big election we have coming up, which has a lot of people uneasy."

Also, potentially a focus for some traders, the third and final presidential debate will take place Wednesday evening.

Read: Wall Street wants Donald Trump to be beaten, but not crushed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-wall-streets-new-election-black-swan-2016-10-18)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-wall-streets-new-election-black-swan-2016-10-18)Also read:Irish bookie already paying out on Hillary Clinton victory bets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/irish-bookie-already-paying-out-on-hillary-clinton-victory-bets-2016-10-18)

In the latest economic data, housing stars fell 9% in August (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/housing-starts-tumble-9-as-sturdy-recovery-remains-elusive-2016-10-19), reaching the slowest pace since March 2015. The data was a setback for the housing market, though the starts were offset by a rise in monthly building permits.

Wednesday also marks the 29th anniversary of Black Monday, when on Oct. 19, 1987, stock markets crashed around the world.

Read:Chart watcher: stop comparing 2016 stock market to 1987 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chart-watcher-stop-comparing-2016-stock-market-to-1987-2016-10-18)

Gains for crude prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rise-on-signs-crude-inventories-likely-fell-last-week-2016-10-19)came as Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Khalid A. Al-Falih, spoke at a London conference. He said improving fundamentals and market rebalancing will continue to aid the recovery and that many countries, including those that aren't a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, are willing to join a potential deal to cut global oil output (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/saudi-oil-minister-many-non-opec-countries-willing-to-join-output-deal-2016-10-19).

Read: The stock market has been losing its grip on rallies at 3 distinct times during the day (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-stock-market-has-been-losing-its-grip-on-rallies-at-3-key-times-during-the-day-2016-10-18) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-stock-market-has-been-losing-its-grip-on-rallies-at-3-key-times-during-the-day-2016-10-18)

(https://twitter.com/sarasjolin/status/788656012299468800)

In corporate news, Intel Corp. (INTC) fell 5.3% to $35.75 after it reported a disappointing outlook (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/intels-earnings-up-but-outlook-disappoints-2016-10-18) while Reynolds American Inc.(RAI) sank 4.6% after earnings and revenue fell short (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/reynolds-american-misses-third-quarter-earnings-revenue-expectations-2016-10-19). On the upside, Halliburton Co.(HAL)(HAL) rose 3.3% to $48.65 on its results.

Read:The Intel money pit: Renovations cost more, no results in sight (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-intel-money-pit-renovations-cost-more-no-results-in-sight-2016-10-18)

Need to know:Sing the Alphabet song--the Google parent's stock just broke out (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sing-the-alphabet-song-the-google-parents-stock-just-broke-out-2016-10-19)

Among other markets, gold rose 0.7% while the ICE dollar index was flat.

Read:Why gold will rise no matter who becomes the next president (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-gold-will-rise-no-matter-who-becomes-the-next-us-president-2016-10-18)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-slips-though-move-reduced-after-better-than-expected-china-data-2016-10-19)The Stoxx Europe 600 index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-slip-but-energy-shares-track-gains-in-oil-prices-2016-10-19) logged moderate gains, while Asian stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-rise-as-china-reports-healthy-growth-2016-10-18) finished mixed. The Shanghai Composite Index closed flat after data showed better-than-expected growth (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-economy-grows-steadily-in-q3-2016-10-18) in China, but slower industrial production.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 19, 2016 10:16 ET (14:16 GMT)

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