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Wall Street carried higher by tech stocks
22-Jul-19 16:20 ET
Dow +17.70 at 27171.90, Nasdaq +57.65 at 8204.14, S&P +8.42 at 2985.03

https://www.briefing.com/investor/markets/stock-market-update/2019/7/22/wall-street-carried-higher-by-tech-stocks.htm

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 increased 0.3% on Monday in a tech-driven advance. Noticeable gains in Apple (AAPL 207.22, +4.63, +2.3%), Facebook (FB 202.32, +23.96, +2.0%), Amazon (AMZN 1985.63, +21.11, +1.1%), and Microsoft (MSFT 138.43, +1.81, +1.3%) contributed to the outperformance of the Nasdaq Composite (+0.7%).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.1%, while the Russell 2000 declined 0.2%.

The S&P 500 information technology sector (+1.2%) was Monday's outright leader, led by shares of Apple and semiconductor companies. The other ten S&P 500 sectors didn't stray too far from their unchanged marks, although the consumer staples sector (-0.5%) did show relative weakness.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 2.0% following positive commentary out of Goldman Sachs. The firm upgraded Micron (MU 47.19, +1.67, +3.7%), Lam Research (LRCX 207.21, +8.74, +4.4%), and Applied Materials (AMAT 50.73, +2.92, +6.1%) to Buy from Neutral, stemming from a positive view on the memory market. Similarly, Apple outperformed after Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $247 from $231.

Separately, Boston Fed President Rosengren (FOMC voter) advocated against a rate cut at the July 30-31 policy meeting after Friday's close. The market appeared undeterred by the stance on Monday, as it still expected a cut of at least 25 basis points. Still, outside of tech names, there appeared to be some buying reservations in front of key economic data released later this week.

Interestingly, declining issues outpaced advancing issues in both the NYSE and Nasdaq on Monday.

Notable companies that reported earnings on Monday included Halliburton (HAL 23.74, +1.99, +9.2%) and RPM Inc. (RPM 65.09, +2.80, +4.5%), both of which beat profit estimates. Lennox International (LII 264.00, -14.90, -5.3%), however, came up short of expectations and lowered its full-year guidance.

U.S. Treasuries closed slightly higher in a quiet session. The 2-yr yield and the 10-yr yield declined one basis point each to 1.81% and 2.04%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.2% to 97.29. WTI crude advanced 1.0% to $56.20/bbl amid lingering concerns that tensions in the Middle East will disrupt supply.

Investors did not receive any notable economic data on Monday. Looking ahead, the FHFA Housing Price Index for May and Existing Home Sales for June will be released on Tuesday.

Nasdaq Composite +23.6% YTD
S&P 500 +19.1% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +16.5% YTD
Russell 2000 +14.6% YTD