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Stocks end negative week on positive note
24-Apr-20 16:20 ET
Dow +260.01 at 23775.27, Nasdaq +139.77 at 8634.53, S&P +38.94 at 2836.74

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

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 increased 1.4% on Friday, wrapping up a negative week on a positive note amid a resurgence in buyers during the afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%, the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.7%, and the Russell 2000 rose 1.6%.

Investors started the day parsing a mixed batch of earnings reports, including those from a trio of Dow components. Price action was muted from an index level, though, as the market appeared disinterested, even as oil prices ($17.03, +0.23, +1.4%) continued to rebound and the $484 billion coronavirus relief bill was signed by President Trump.

Stocks then started to gain traction in afternoon trade, presumably pulling in reluctant investors, who were fearful of missing out on additional gains given the market's recent resiliency despite the negative economic environment. From a sector level, the gains were broad, with all 11 S&P 500 sectors closing in positive territory.

The information technology sector (+2.1%) led the advance, followed by the materials sector (+1.6%). The energy sector (+0.2%) underperformed today.

As hinted earlier, Dow components Intel (INTC 59.26, +0.22, +0.4%), Verizon (VZ 57.93, +0.34, +0.6%), and American Express (AXP 83.17, +0.71, +0.9%) reported mixed earnings results, but shares were able to close higher despite early losses.

Facebook (FB 190.07, +4.94, +2.7%) was a notable standout after the company announced the launch of Messenger Rooms, a competing service to Zoom Video (ZM 158.80, -10.29, -6.1%).

In other corporate news, Boeing (BA 128.98, -8.76, -6.4%) will reportedly cut its 787 Dreamliner production in half and announce job cuts as a result. Alphabet (GOOG 1279.31, +3.00, +0.2%) will reportedly cut its marketing budgets by as much as half in the second half of the year. AT&T (T 29.71, +0.21, +0.7%) CEO Randall Stephenson will retire on July 1.

U.S. Treasuries ended the session with modest gains, pushing yields slightly lower. The 2-yr yield and 10-yr yield both declined two basis points each to 0.20% and 0.60%, respectively. The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.2% to 100.24. On a related note, the Fed will reduce its Treasury purchases to $10 billion/day next week from $15 billion/day this week.

Reviewing Friday's economic data:

Durable goods orders declined 14.4% m/m in March (Briefing.com consensus -10.0%). Excluding transportation, durable goods orders declined 0.2% (Briefing.com consensus -4.0%).
The key takeaway from the report is that business spending was up slightly in March, yet that condition isn't expected to persist into April when COVID-19 shutdown measures hit in full force and corporate capex cut announcements accelerated.
The final reading for the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for March was revised up to 71.8 (Briefing.com consensus 66.5) from the preliminary reading of 71.0. The final reading for March was 89.1.
The key takeaway from the report is that the downturn in the Expectations Index has not been as severe as the downturn in the Current Economic Conditions Index, which suggests consumers are clearly concerned about the outlook but still clinging to some rebound hope with anticipated reopenings of state economies.

Investors will not receive any notable economic data on Monday.

Nasdaq Composite -3.8% YTD
S&P 500 -12.2% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -16.7% YTD
Russell 2000 -26.1% YTD

Market Snapshot
Dow 23775.27 +260.01 (1.11%)
Nasdaq 8634.53 +139.77 (1.65%)
SP 500 2836.74 +38.94 (1.39%)
10-yr Note +2/32 0.588
NYSE Adv 1799 Dec 1085 Vol 1.1 bln
Nasdaq Adv 2102 Dec 1112 Vol 3.6 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Information Technology, Materials, Consumer Discretionary
Weak: Energy, Real Estate, Utilities

Moving the Market

-- S&P 500 closes near session highs, still ends week lower

-- Relative strength in information technology sector despite underwhelming guidance from Intel (INTC)

-- Oil prices extend rebound, $484 billion coronavirus relief bill signed by President Trump

WTI crude extends rebound to third day
24-Apr-20 15:25 ET
Dow +216.26 at 23731.52, Nasdaq +113.53 at 8608.29, S&P +33.10 at 2830.90

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is up 1.2%, and the Russell 2000 is up 1.4%.

One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows green across the board. The information technology sector (+1.6%) ekes out the top spot, while the utilities sector (+0.4%) sits at the bottom of the standings.

WTI crude futures settled up $0.23 (+1.4%) to $17.03/bbl.