The markets traded mixed during the midday with the Dow slipping 24 points to 21,788. Nasdaq rose 11 points to 6,277.
The nation's trade deficit increased in July by 1.7% to $65.1 billion as exports fell by 1.3%. Exports of automobiles tumbled 8.0% while exports of capital goods gained 1.5%. Imports edged down 0.3% as motor vehicle imports dropped 2.8% while capital goods imports climbed 2.0%.
Burger King introduced its own WhopperCoin cryptocurrency in Russia that is powered by Waves distributed edged network. WhopperCoin tokens will be issued through a digital wallet to customers who purchase a Whopper sandwich. When customers have collected enough WhopperCoins, they can us the cryptocurrency to purchase a Whopper.
Fitbit launched its first Ionic smartwatch to compete against Apple Watch. In addition to tracking heart rate, the device is water resistant up to 50 meters, will feature GPS tracking and has a battery that can last for more than four days. Ionic is priced at $299.95.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE while advancers edged out decliners by nearly 6 to 5 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 eased a point to 2,441. Bitcoin lost $15 to $4,333.
