Stocks ended the session broadly higher after opening in negative territory, though investors remain focused on the U.S. yield curve, trade tensions between Washington and China, and developments in the Brexit process in the U.K. Crude oil prices rose while the price of gold edged lower.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., MBA reported mortgage applications fell 6.2% in the week ended August 23 after dipping 0.6% in the prior week, though after a 21.7% surge in the August 9 week. In addition, the August State Street Investor Confidence was reported at 75.9.
In the U.K., the Queen has approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson's request to suspend Parliament just days after the governing body returns from summer recess next week. The move will reduce the amount of time Members of Parliament will have to try and prevent a no-deal Brexit before the current deadline.
TOP NEWS: Apple (AAPL) shares were in focus after the tech giant said that it will no longer retain audio recordings of Siri interactions. The company said in a statement, "As a result of our review, we realize we haven't been fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologize. As we previously announced, we halted the Siri grading program. We plan to resume later this fall when software updates are released to our users," but only after making a number of changes. The move follows reporting on how tech companies such as Apple, Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), and Google (GOOGL) review user recordings captured by their devices.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank (DB) was in focus after the New York Times reported that the lender has told a federal appeals court that it has some tax returns sought by congressional subpoenas issued earlier this year to U.S. President Donald Trump, his family, and his businesses. In the document, the identities of the people or organizations behind the tax returns have been redacted, according to the Times.
In IPO news, Peloton Interactive (PTON) said last night that it filed a registration statement with the SEC relating to the proposed initial public offering of its Class A common stock. The company has applied to list its Class A shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "PTON."
President Trump will announce an agreement to boost demand for biofuels which have been hurt "from waivers the administration has issued exempting oil refiners from requirements to blend ethanol into the U.S. fuel supply," Reuters reported, citing comments from Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. Companies that may be impacted include Archer Daniels (ADM), Aemetis (AMTX), Gevo (GEVO), Green Plains (GPRE) Green Plains Partners (GPP) and Pacific Ethanol (PEIX).
Additionally, Bloomberg reported that a judge has ruled that Amgen's (AMGN) patents on Repatha are invalid. According to Bloomberg, Sanofi (SNY) and Regeneron's (REGN) bid for a new trial on the matter has been denied.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Tallgrass Energy (TGE), which surged 35.6% after announcing that the board of its general partner has received a non-binding preliminary proposal letter from Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, its partners and respective affiliates to acquire all of the outstanding Class A shares representing limited partner interests in TGE not already owned by the sponsors for $19.50 per Class A share in cash. Also higher was Coty (COTY), which gained 6% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Phibro Animal Health (PAHC), which slid 31.1% after it reported lower-than-expected quarterly results and provided downbeat earnings guidance for fiscal 2020. Also lower after reporting quarterly results was Autodesk (ADSK), which fell 6.7%.
INDEXES: The Dow rose 258.20, or 1%, to 26,036.10, the Nasdaq gained 29.94, or 0.38%, to 7,856.88, and the S&P 500 advanced 18.78, or 0.65%, to 2,887.84.
