US stocks trade flat near multi-month highs

Major US equity indices witnessed a flat opening, with a combination of diverging forces failing to provide any meaningful impetus on the first trading day of a new week.  

Expectations of a strong corporate earnings seasons, reinforced by robust second-quarter results from Bank of America, provided a minor boost during the early hour of trading. However, a sharp fall in crude oil prices weighed heavily on energy stocks and kept early gains under check.  

Adding to this, worries about any further eruption in trade news, which recently has been suppressing positive fundamental news, might further collaborate towards capping any meaningful up-move, particularly when all the three major indices are trading near their multi-month high levels.

On the economic data front, the US monthly retail sales data matched consensus estimates and previous month’s readings were also revised higher. Adding to this, the Empire State manufacturing index fell less than expected in July but again did little to impress the bulls.

At the time of writing this report, all the three major indices were flat-lined near Friday’s closing level as investors look forward to any fresh geopolitical headlines coming out of a highly anticipated meeting between the US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.