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Stock Market Sets New Records amid Positive Data
29-Apr-19 16:15 ET
Dow +11.06 at 26554.39, Nasdaq +15.46 at 8161.85, S&P +3.15 at 2943.03

https://www.briefing.com/investor/markets/stock-market-update/2019/4/29/stock-market-sets-new-records-amid-positive-data.htm

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.1%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%) both set new closing, and intraday, records on Monday. It was a tight-ranged session, but positive economic data and the outperformance of the financial and communication services stocks helped maintain the market's bullish bias.

The Russell 2000 increased 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.04%) finished fractionally higher.

The latest personal income and spending data helped advance the narrative that the U.S. economy seems to be benefiting still from solid consumer spending activity and muted inflation pressures.

Personal spending jumped 0.9% (Briefing.com consensus 0.8%) in March. The PCE Price Index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, was up 1.5% yr/yr in March while the core PCE Price Index was up 1.6% yr/yr in March -- both below the Fed's annual inflation target of 2.0%.

The positive data helped keep selling conviction to a minimum in front of a busy news week that will include another wave of earnings reports, U.S.-China trade negotiations, an FOMC meeting, and the April employment report.

At the same time, the outperformance of the S&P 500 financials (+0.9%) and communication services (+0.9%) sectors helped keep the broader market afloat.

Financial stocks benefited from some sector rotation and an increase in U.S. Treasury yields. The communication services sector was boosted by shares of Alphabet (GOOG 1287.58, +15.40, +1.2%), which outperformed in front of the company's earnings report.

On the other hand, the rate-sensitive real estate (-1.1%) and utilities (-0.6%) sectors showed some weakness amid the uptick in yields.

The 2-yr yield and the 10-yr yield increased three basis points each to 2.30% and 2.54%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.2% to 97.87. WTI crude increased 0.4% to $63.44/bbl.

Reviewing Monday's economic data, which included the PCE Price Index for February and March:

Briefly, personal spending increased 0.1% in February while the PCE Price Index and core PCE Price Index, which excludes food and energy, both rose just 0.1%. For March, personal income increased 0.4%, as expected, while personal spending surged 0.9% (Briefing.com consensus +0.8%). The PCE Price Index increased 0.2% while the core PCE Price Index was flat (Briefing.com consensus +0.1%).
The key takeaway from the report is that this data was imputed in the first quarter GDP report, so it shouldn't be too surprising. Ultimately, it helps advance the narrative that the U.S. economy seems to be benefiting still from solid consumer spending activity and muted inflation pressures.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the following economic reports on Tuesday: the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for April, the Employment Cost Index for the first quarter, the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for February, the Chicago PMI for April, and Pending Home Sales for March.

Nasdaq Composite +23.0% YTD
Russell 2000 +18.5% YTD
S&P 500 +17.4% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +13.8% YTD