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Stocks lose ground on subdued expectations for rate cut, G-20 summit
25-Jun-19 16:20 ET
Dow -179.32 at 26548.22, Nasdaq -120.98 at 7884.71, S&P -27.97 at 2917.38

https://www.briefing.com/investor/markets/stock-market-update/2019/6/25/stocks-lose-ground-on-subdued-expectations-for-rate-cut-g20-summit.htm

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 lost 1.0% on Tuesday, as subdued expectations for next month's Fed rate decision and the upcoming G-20 summit contributed to a risk-off mindset. Shares of technology companies, particularly the mega-cap stocks, underperformed the broader market.

The Nasdaq Composite lost 1.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7%, and the Russell 2000 lost 0.6%.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard (FOMC voter), who was the lone dissident in this month's FOMC meeting, said he didn't think it was necessary to cut the fed funds rate by 50 basis points. Instead, he favored a 25 basis points reduction, viewing it as an "insurance" cut.

This stance from one of the Fed's most vocal doves, in addition to comments from Fed Chair Powell, tempered the market's hopes for a 50 basis points cut next month. Fed Chair Powell reminded the market that monetary policy should not overreact to any individual data point or short-term swings in sentiment.

Expectations for the upcoming G-20 summit were also lowered after a White House official told Reuters that the U.S. will not accept any new tariff conditions and that the U.S. is not willing to concede to the Chinese on trade. The goal is to simply reopen talks, which was not the constructive tone the market was anticipating.

These subdued expectations, along with some disappointing economic data, contributed to some broad-based profit taking in equities. Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished lower, led by the mega-cap stocks within the information technology (-1.8%), communication services (-1.6%), and consumer discretionary (-1.1%) sectors. The materials sector was unchanged.

Regarding economic data, new home sales for May and consumer sentiment for June both declined below expectations. On a related note, home construction company Lennar (LEN 48.22, -3.19, -6.2%) provided investors with downside Q3 guidance.

In M&A news, the health care sector (-0.4%) was home to a mega-merger deal on Tuesday. AbbVie (ABBV 65.70, -12.75, -16.3%) announced it will acquire Allergan (AGN 162.43, +32.86, +25.4%) for about $63 billion, or $188.24 per share, in cash and stock. With shares of AbbVie losing over 16%, the premium was reduced to 37% over AGN's closing price on Monday.

U.S. Treasuries finished on a mostly higher note. The 2-yr yield was unchanged at 1.74%, and the 10-yr yield declined three basis points to 1.99%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.2% to 96.16. WTI crude was unchanged at $57.81/bbl.

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data:

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 121.5 in June (Briefing.com consensus 132.0) from a downwardly revised 131.3 (from 134.1) in May. The index is at its lowest level since September 2017.
The key takeaway from the report is that it reflects growing concern about trade tensions among consumers that had been previously lacking, but which had been showing up in business confidence surveys. Flagging confidence on the part of businesses and consumers alike, if it is sustained, is an adverse development for the growth outlook.
New home sales declined 7.8% m/m in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 626,000 (Briefing.com consensus 683,000) from an upwardly revised 679,000 (from 673,000) in April.
The key takeaway from the report is that demand was relatively soft despite a drop in mortgage rates and a 2.8% yr/yr decline in the median sales price of $308,000.
The FHFA Housing Price Index for April increased 0.4% (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%) following an unrevised 0.1% increase in March.
The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for April increased 2.5% as expected after increasing a revised 2.6% in March (from 2.7%).

Looking ahead, investors will receive the following reports on Wednesday: Durable Goods Orders for May, the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index, and the Advance reports for International Trade in Goods, Retail Inventories, and Wholesales Inventories for May.

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S&P 500 +16.4% YTD
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