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Wall Street extends rally on solid economic data
17-Jan-20 16:20 ET
Dow +50.46 at 29348.01, Nasdaq +31.81 at 9388.97, S&P +12.81 at 3329.62

https://www.briefing.com/stock-market-update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 advanced 0.4% on Friday, as upbeat economic data helped extend the market's record run. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.2%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%) also closed at new highs, while the Russell 2000 (-0.3%) finished lower.

Overall, it was a relatively subdued session that seemingly had the potential for even more gains. For instance, housing starts rose to their highest level in 13 years in December, China's industrial production rose more than expected in December, and a couple of influential hedge fund managers told CNBC they were bullish on stocks.

Buyers, however, appeared exhausted after another great week of gains. There were still more buyers than sellers given the amount of positive news in the market, as nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished in the green. The communication services (+0.9%) and utilities (+0.8%) sectors outperformed, while the energy sector (-0.7%) underperformed.

The industrials sector (unch) also included its fair share of laggards. Boeing (BA 324.15, -7.85, -2.4%) extended losses on a report of another software issue, and several transportation stocks fell after issuing relatively disappointing earnings results and/or guidance.

Expeditors International (EXPD 76.82, -4.52, -5.6%), J.B. Hunt (JBHT 114.68, -5.08, -4.2%), and CSX (CSX 76.40, -0.34, -0.4%) let investors down, while KC Southern (KSU 166.52, +4.89, +3.0%) shareholders were able to look past its earnings miss.

Separately, Alphabet (GOOG 1480.39, +28.69, +2.0%) and Apple (AAPL 318.73, +3.49, +1.1%) benefited from a pair of positive analyst recommendations. UBS raised its GOOG price target to $1675 from $1460. Morgan Stanley raised its AAPL price target to $368 from $296.

U.S. Treasuries finished mixed amid some curve-steepening activity. The 2-yr yield declined one basis point to 1.56%, while the 10-yr yield increased three basis points to 1.84%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.3% to 97.62. WTI crude increased 0.1% to $58.55/bbl.

Reviewing Friday's economic data:

Total housing starts surged 16.9% m/m in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.608 million (Briefing.com consensus 1.380 million), driven by an 11.2% increase in single-family starts and a 30% increase in multi-unit starts. Building permits, meanwhile, declined 3.9% m/m to 1.416 million (Briefing.com consensus 1.460 million), with single-family permits down 0.5%.
The key takeaway from the report is the huge starts number and the recognition that the largest homebuilding region -- the South -- saw an impressive 11.3% increase in single-family starts. That's a good sign as it relates to potential supply coming online and it's good simply as a positive growth indicator.
Industrial production declined 0.3% in December (Briefing.com consensus +0.1%), pressured by a 5.6% decline in utilities output that stemmed from unseasonably warm weather. The capacity utilization rate fell to 77.0% from an upwardly revised 77.4% (from 77.3%) in November.
The key takeaway from the report is that manufacturing output increased 0.2% despite a large 4.6% drop in the output of motor vehicles and parts. Excluding the motor vehicle sector, factory output increased 0.5%.
The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for January declined to 99.1 (Briefing.com consensus 98.9) from 99.3 in November.
Job openings declined to 6.800 million from a revised 7.361 million (from 7.267 million) in November, according to the JOLTS report.

As a reminder, the market will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Nasdaq Composite +4.6% YTD
S&P 500 +3.1% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +2.8% YTD
Russell 2000 +1.9% YTD

Market Snapshot
Dow 29348.01 +50.46 (0.17%)
Nasdaq 9388.97 +31.81 (0.34%)
SP 500 3329.62 +12.81 (0.39%)
10-yr Note -2/32 1.831
NYSE Adv 1458 Dec 1409 Vol 988.4 mln
Nasdaq Adv 1387 Dec 1751 Vol 2.3 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Communication Services, Utilities
Weak: Energy, Industrials

Moving the Market

-- Stock market closes at fresh record highs on upbeat economic data

-- Housing starts rise more than expected in December, China reports better-than- expected industrial production for December

-- Relative weakness in the transportation space following earnings/guidance

WTI crude settles little changed
17-Jan-20 15:25 ET
Dow +7.39 at 29304.94, Nasdaq +7.16 at 9364.32, S&P +6.10 at 3322.91

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 continues to trade higher by 0.2%.

One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows utilities (+0.7%) and communication services (+0.6%) continuing to outperform, while the energy (-0.8%) and industrials (-0.1%) sectors trade in the red. The energy sector is the only sector trading lower for the week with a 1.2% decline.

WTI crude increased $0.07 (+0.1%) to $58.55/bbl.