published Mar 29th 2017, 3:54 pm, by Oliver Renick

(Bloomberg) —
U.S. stocks edged higher on the third slowest trading day of the year as investors assessed economic data and continued to weigh the likelihood of legislative reform in the Trump administration.

The S&P 500 added 0.1 percent to 2,361 at 4 p.m. in New York, as Europe ended higher and Asian markets were mixed. The U.S. benchmark gained the most in nearly two weeks on Tuesday as data showed consumers are more upbeat than any time since 2000, helping investors shrug off President Donald Trump’s health-care flop last Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 42 points to 20,659.

Utility shares lower by 0.5% and real estate stocks higher by 0.3%10-year Treasury yield down 4bps Financial shares lost 0.5% for biggest decline in market after rallying Tuesday Oil extended Tuesday’s gain as an unexpected disruption in Libyan crude output overshadowed record U.S. stockpiles; energy shares gained 1.2% VIX down for 4th session to 11.4 Volume reached 5.86b shares, third-lowest of 2017 A gauge tracking global stocks excluding the U.S. has outperformed America by almost 300bps so far in 2017; that trend will continue over the next 12 months because policy optimism and valuations are high in the U.S., whereas overseas markets show a better cyclical backdrop, according to strategist Ian Wright at Goldman Sachs

ECONOMY: MBA mortgage applications index fell 0.8% in week ended March 24 February pending home sales index rose 5.5% to most since July 2010 Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said post-market yesterday that two more interest-rate increases in 2017 seem about right

EARNINGS (S&P 500):Wednesday: Perrigo (PRGO) Europe Market Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3% as oil extended gains after U.S. crude stockpiles rose less than forecast Mining shares climbed the most, tracking copper prices higher

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To contact the reporter on this story: Oliver Renick in New York at orenick2@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Nagi at chrisnagi@bloomberg.net Scott Schnipper

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