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Market closes at session highs, led by financials
25-Jun-20 16:15 ET
Dow +299.66 at 25745.62, Nasdaq +107.84 at 10017.01, S&P +33.43 at 3083.63

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

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 gained 1.1% on Thursday, recouping some of yesterday's decline, amid solid leadership from the financials sector (+2.7%). The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.2%) and Nasdaq Composite (+1.1%) kept pace with the benchmark index, while the Russell 2000 (+1.7%) outperformed.

The session started on a lower note following news that the U.S. tallied a daily record for new coronavirus cases on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 0.9%, but it quickly bounced back into positive territory after nearly touching its 200-day moving average (3021) and was led higher by shares of financial companies after regulators eased restrictions on the Volcker Rule for banking institutions.

Financials stocks took the news in stride, as the modification allows banks to increase their investments in a broad set of venture capital funds, but the major indices proceeded to drift near their flat lines for a good portion of the day. The market, however, broke out late in the session and carried nearly every sector into positive territory, except the utilities sector (-1.2%).

There was no news item that contributed to the breakout, but it might have been fueled by some short covering activity from investors anticipating more weakness in the market due to the negative coronavirus headlines.

Notably, Texas and Florida announced a temporary pause of additional reopening phases, CDC officials told reporters that COVID-19 cases in the U.S. might be ten times higher than currently reported, and Walt Disney (DIS 111.36, -0.71, -0.6%) delayed its reopening date of Disneyland past July 17.

Weekly jobless claims also remained high, decreasing by just 60,000 to 1.480 million (Briefing.com consensus 1.250 million) for the week ending June 20. The good news was that continuing claims declined noticeably by 767,000 to 19.522 million.

In other corporate news, Boeing (BA 174.88, -1.81, -1.0%) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Berenberg, and KB Home (KBH 29.38, -3.95, -11.9%) disappointed investors with its quarterly results.

U.S. Treasuries posted modest gains for the second straight session. The 2-yr yield declined two basis points to 0.16%, and the 10-yr yield declined one basis point to 0.67%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.2% to 97.35. WTI crude increased 2.0%, or $0.75, to $38.75/bbl.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data:

Initial claims for the week ending June 20 decreased 60,000 to a still-high 1.480 million (Briefing.com consensus 1.250 million). Continuing claims for the week ending June 13 plunged by 767,000 to 19.522 million.
The key takeaway from the report is that, while it was nice to see the big drop in continuing claims, it remains alarming still to see such high levels of initial claims, particularly since the reacceleration in coronavirus case counts and a rethink of reopening efforts are going to trigger worries about another wave of layoffs.
Durable Goods Orders for May increased 15.8% (Briefing.com consensus 11.6%) on the heels of a downwardly revised 18.1% decline (from -17.7%) in April. Excluding transportation, orders rose 4.0% (Briefing.com consensus 2.1%) following a downwardly revised 8.2% decline (from -7.7%) in April.
The key takeaway from the report is that order activity clearly rebounded in May, yet new order levels year to date are 13.6% lower than the same period a year ago on a not seasonally adjusted basis.
The third estimate for Q1 GDP was unchanged at -5.0% (Briefing.com consensus -5.0%) while the GDP Price Deflator was unchanged at 1.4% (Briefing.com consensus 1.4%).
The key takeaway from this report is that it is insignificant for the market given its dated nature.Personal consumption expenditures growth was unchanged from the second estimate at -6.8%.
The advance goods trade deficit totaled $74.3 bln in May following a $70.7 bln deficit in April. Advance retail inventories declined 6.1% in May after decreasing 3.8% in April. Advance wholesale inventories decreased 1.2% in May after increasing 0.2% in April.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the Personal Income and Spending report for May and the revised University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for June on Friday.

Nasdaq Composite +11.6% YTD
S&P 500 -4.6% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -9.8% YTD
Russell 2000 -15.3% YTD

Market Snapshot
Dow 25745.62 +299.66 (1.18%)
Nasdaq 10017.01 +107.84 (1.09%)
SP 500 3083.63 +33.43 (1.10%)
10-yr Note 0/32 0.683
NYSE Adv 1876 Dec 1037 Vol 966.8 mln
Nasdaq Adv 2252 Dec 1071 Vol 4.6 bln

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

Moving the Market

-- Stock market breaks out to session highs late in the day on no specific news item

-- Volcker rule relaxed, financial stocks rally

-- S&P 500 found support at 200-day moving average (3021)

-- Coronavirus concerns muted

WTI crude gains 2%
25-Jun-20 15:25 ET
Dow +235.45 at 25681.41, Nasdaq +71.54 at 9980.71, S&P +26.51 at 3076.71

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is now up 0.9% to trade at session highs.

One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows financials (+2.6%) firmly in the lead with a 2.6% gain, followed by the energy sector (+1.5%). The utilities (-1.3%) and consumer discretionary (unch) sectors underperform.

WTI crude futures settled today's session higher by $0.75 (+2.0%) to $38.75/bbl.