Stocks Opened Lower ahead of Trump Speech

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Tuesday as investors remained cautious ahead of President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 19.95 points, or 0.10%, to 20,817.49. The S&P 500 was down 4.39 points, or 0.19%, to 2,365.36. The Nasdaq Composite lost 18.89 points, or 0.32%, to 5,843.01.

The growth in the U.S. economy in the final quarter of Barack Obama’s presidency was left at 1.9%, held down by a bigger trade deficit even as consumer spending rebounded strongly. The government’s second look at gross domestic product in the fourth quarter showed a bigger increase in purchases by consumers than initially reported: 3% vs. 2.5%.

U.S. home prices surged higher in December, just months after hitting a high last seen at the height of the housing bubble a decade ago. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 5.6% in the three-month period ending in December compared to a year ago, up from a 5.2% annual gain in November.

The number of U.S. retailers ranked at the most-distressed level of the credit-rating spectrum has more than tripled since the Great Recession of 2008-2009 and is heading toward record levels in the next five years, Moody’s Investors Service said Monday.

Target reported sales and earnings that missed Wall Street’s expectations on Tuesday. Its outlook for fiscal 2017 also fell well short of expectations. Target’s same-store sales fell 1.5 percent in the important holiday quarter, missing analysts’ average estimate a 1.3 percent fall. Excluding items, Target earned $1.45 per share in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 28, shy of the $1.51 analysts’ were expecting.