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S&P 500 closes slightly lower after failed rebound effort
26-Feb-20 16:15 ET
Dow -123.77 at 26957.51, Nasdaq +15.16 at 8980.81, S&P -11.82 at 3116.39

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

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 advanced as much as 1.7% on Wednesday, as investors tried to buy an oversold market, but pestering worries about the coronavirus left the benchmark index down 0.4% for the session. The Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%) eked out a slim gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.5%) and Russell 2000 (-1.2%) joined the S&P 500 in negative territory.

Early on, it looked like sellers were taking an off-day after the S&P 500 dropped 7.6% over the prior four sessions, but the market continued to be inundated with negative updates on the coronavirus. For instance, Germany's health minister said Germany is at the beginning of an epidemic, and it was reported that 83 people in New York were being monitored for exposure to the virus.

All 11 S&P 500 sectors had traded in the green, but only the information technology sector (+0.4%) was able to finish in positive territory thanks to strength in Apple (AAPL 292.65, +4.57, +1.6%) and Microsoft (MSFT 170.17, +2.10, +1.3%). The energy sector dropped 3.0% amid continued weakness in oil prices ($48.70, -1.19, -2.4%).

Fortunately, losses didn't accelerate, and the broader market drifted slightly lower throughout the afternoon. A wait-and-see mindset may have taken fold ahead of President Trump's coronavirus news conference at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Walt Disney (DIS 123.40, -4.79, -3.7%), Toll Brothers (TOL 37.82, -6.47, -14.6%), and Lowe's (LOW 113.32, -5.20, -4.4%) were among today's notable laggards. Disney announced Bob Iger stepped down as CEO, Toll Brothers missed earnings expectations, and Lowe's issued downside FY21 guidance.

Although not market-moving, economic data showed new home sales for January climb to their highest level since July 2007. In addition, TJX Companies (TJX 63.99, +4.27, +7.2%) reported solid quarterly results.

U.S. Treasuries were less in focus today, but the continued gains in the bond market weren't conducive for risk sentiment. The 2-yr yield declined five basis points to 1.15%, and the 10-yr yield declined two basis points to 1.31%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.2% to 99.13.

Reviewing Wednesday's economic data, which featured New Home Sales for January:

New home sales increased 7.9% m/m in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 764,000 units (Briefing.com consensus 720,000) from an upwardly revised 708,000 (from 694,000) in December.
The key takeaway from the report is that new home sales were also strong on a year-over-year basis (+18.6%), benefiting from the drop in mortgage rates and the extremely tight supply of existing homes for sale.
The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index increased 1.5% following a 6.4% decline in the prior week.

Looking ahead, investors will receive Durable Goods Orders for January, the second estimate for Q4 GDP, Pending Home Sales for January, and the weekly Initial and Continuing Claims report on Thursday.

Nasdaq Composite +0.1% YTD
S&P 500 -3.5% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -5.5% YTD
Russell 2000 -6.9% YTD

Market Snapshot
Dow 26957.51 -123.77 (-0.46%)
Nasdaq 8980.81 +15.16 (0.17%)
SP 500 3116.39 -11.82 (-0.38%)
10-yr Note +1/32 1.340
NYSE Adv 940 Dec 1861 Vol 1.3 bln
Nasdaq Adv 1174 Dec 2010 Vol 3.5 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Information Technology
Weak: Energy

Moving the Market

-- S&P 500 closes lower as rebound effort fails

-- Relative strength in the information technology sector

-- Treasury yields continued to decline

-- New home sales for January rose to highest level since July 2007

WTI crude drops another 2%
26-Feb-20 15:25 ET
Dow -73.08 at 27008.20, Nasdaq +39.04 at 9004.69, S&P -2.42 at 3125.79

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is trading at its flat line. It was up 1.7% at its high and down 0.6% at its low.

One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows information technology (+0.7%), communication services (+0.2%), and health care (+0.1%) trading in positive territory, while the energy sector (-2.6%) is the only sector down more than 1%.

WTI crude settled lower by $1.19 (-2.4%) to $48.70/bbl, as expectations for oil demand remained weakened by the coronavirus.