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Market closes higher as mega-caps lead and dollar weakens
27-Jul-20 16:15 ET

Dow +114.88 at 26584.77, Nasdaq +173.09 at 10536.35, S&P +23.78 at 3239.41

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

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 advanced 0.7% on Monday in a session that included renewed strength in the mega-cap stocks and continued weakness in the U.S. dollar. The Nasdaq Composite (+1.7%) and Russell 2000 (+1.2%) rose more than 1.0%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased just 0.4%.

Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors closed higher, including the information technology (+1.6%), materials (+1.4%), and real estate (+1.1%) sectors at the top of the standings. The utilities (-1.3%) and financials (-0.8%) sectors were the lone holdouts.

Material stocks benefited from higher metal prices, including the continued breakout of gold ($1931.70/ozt, $34.20 +1.8%) amid a weakening U.S. Dollar Index (93.71, -0.72, -0.8%). The tech sector was lifted by mega-cap leadership and strong gains in the semiconductor space. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 3.2%.

Amazon (AMZN 3055.21, +46.30, +1.5%), Apple (AAPL 379.24, +8.78, +2.4%), Alphabet (GOOG 1530.20, +18.33, +1.2%), and Facebook (FB 233.50, +2.79, +1.2%) outperformed in front of high-profile events this week. Specifically, the CEOs of these companies will testify before lawmakers on Wednesday regarding regulatory concerns, and the companies will report earnings on Thursday.

Taiwan Semi (TSM 83.25, +9.35, +12.7%) stood out with a 12.7% gain amid speculation that Intel (INTC 49.57, -1.02, -2.0%) might order chips from the company to get around its internal production issues.

In other corporate news, Moderna (MRNA 79.91, +6.70, +9.2%) received an additional $472 million from the government to advance its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA 39.94, -0.67, -1.7%) announced its CEO will step down, and Hasbro (HAS 71.84, -5.75, -7.4%) missed top and bottom-line estimates.

Elsewhere, U.S. Treasuries finished little changed while investors continued to await the details of $1 trillion coronavirus relief bill from Republican Senators. The 2-yr yield was flat at 0.15%, and the 10-yr yield increased one basis point to 0.60%. WTI crude futures increased 0.9%, or $0.38 to $41.68/bbl.

Reviewing Monday's economic data:

Total durable goods orders increased 7.3% m/m in June (Briefing.com consensus 6.4%) following a downwardly revised 15.1% increase (from 15.8%) for May. Excluding transportation, orders jumped 3.3%, as expected, after a downwardly revised 3.6% increase (from 4.0%) for May.
The key takeaway from the report is that business spending picked up in June, evidenced by a 3.3% increase in new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft. That came on top of a 1.6% increase in May.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for July and the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for May on Tuesday.

Nasdaq Composite +17.4% YTD
S&P 500 +0.3% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -6.9% YTD
Russell 2000 -11.0% YTD


Market Snapshot
Dow 26584.77 +114.88 (0.43%)
Nasdaq 10536.35 +173.09 (1.67%)
SP 500 3239.41 +23.78 (0.74%)
10-yr Note -1/32 0.606

NYSE Adv 1769 Dec 1196 Vol 790.0 mln
Nasdaq Adv 1932 Dec 1354 Vol 4.1 bln


Industry Watch
Strong: Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, Communication Services, Materials

Weak: Financials, Energy, Utilities


Moving the Market
-- Stock market trades higher in front of busy news week

-- U.S. dollar continues to weaken, gold futures keep rallying

-- Strength in semiconductor space

-- Investors await coronavirus relief bill later today



WTI crude settles higher
27-Jul-20 15:25 ET

Dow +93.49 at 26563.38, Nasdaq +174.34 at 10537.60, S&P +23.33 at 3238.96
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is trading at session highs with a 0.7% gain.

One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows information technology (+1.6%), materials (+1.2%), and consumer discretionary (+1.0%) leading the market in gains, while the financials (-1.1%) and utilities (-1.7%) sectors head in the opposite direction.

WTI crude futures settled higher by $0.38 (+0.9%) to $41.68/bbl.