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S&P 500 Ekes Out New Closing High for the Year
04-Apr-19 16:15 ET
Dow +166.50 at 26384.63, Nasdaq -3.77 at 7891.78, S&P +5.99 at 2879.39

https://www.briefing.com/investor/markets/stock-market-update/2019/4/4/s-and-p-500-ekes-out-new-closing-high-for-the-year.htm

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 increased 0.2% on Thursday, wavering between small gains and losses as high-level trade talks continued in Washington. The benchmark index advanced for the sixth straight session, eking out a new closing high for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%, boosted by shares of Boeing (BA 395.86, +11.12, +2.9%) on reports of a successful test of the software fix for the 737 MAX plane, which could be implemented in the coming weeks. The small-cap Russell 2000 gained 0.4%, while the tech-sensitive Nasdaq Composite lost 0.1%.

The S&P 500 materials (+1.0%), energy (+0.9%), and consumer discretionary (+0.7%) sectors led the broader market higher. Conversely, the information technology (-0.4%), utilities (-0.4%), and real estate (-0.3%) sectors underperformed.

There was some optimism about a trade deal throughout the day in anticipation of President Trump's meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He after the close. There was also some speculation that President Trump could soon announce a summit with President Xi, as negotiations have entered the late stages.

Tesla (TSLA 267.78, -24.03, -8.2%), meanwhile, disappointed investors after it reported a 31% decline in Q1 deliveries and said the results will negatively affect the company's Q1 net income. On a related note, a U.S. judge ordered the SEC and CEO Elon Musk to meet and settle their dispute over the next two weeks. The SEC had sought to hold Mr. Musk in contempt regarding an unchecked tweet pertaining to Tesla's operations.

In other corporate news, Facebook (FB 176.02, +2.48, +1.4%) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim with a price target of $200; Micron (MU 42.89, -1.01, -2.3%) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley with a price target of $32; and Constellation Brands (STZ 191.45, +11.76, +6.5%) pleased investors with its earnings results.

U.S. Treasuries finished mixed ahead of Friday's release of the Employment Situation report for March. The 2-yr yield increased one basis point to 2.33%, and the 10-yr yield decreased one basis point to 2.51%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.2% to 97.26. WTI crude lost 0.3% to $62.24/bbl.

Reviewing Thursday's lone economic data, the weekly Initial and Continuing Claims report:

Initial claims for the week ending March 30 decreased by 10,000 to 202,000 (Briefing.com consensus 217,000) while continuing claims for the week ending March 23 fell by 38,000 to 1.717 million.
The key takeaway from the report is that it suggests employers are reluctant to let go of employees. That is a positive consideration in terms of the economic outlook since feelings of job security help fuel increased consumer spending activity.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the Employment Situation Report for March, and the Consumer Credit report for February on Friday.

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