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S&P 500 ends negative week on high note
25-Sep-20 16:15 ET
Dow +358.52 at 27163.96, Nasdaq +241.30 at 10913.59, S&P +51.87 at 3298.46

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

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 gained 1.6% on Friday in a technology-led advance, ending a negative week on a high note. The Nasdaq Composite rose 2.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3%, and the Russell 2000 rose 1.6%.

The session started mixed, little changed, choppy, and without leadership amid a host of ongoing uncertainties in the market. Those uncertainties, some of which pertain to politics and the economy, weren't cleared up today due to few macro developments, but it appeared the market wasn't going to get dismayed by the unknown.

On no specific news, Apple (AAPL 112.29, +4.07, +3.8%), Microsoft (MSFT 207.82, +4.63, +2.3%), and NVIDIA (NVDA 514.95, +21.03, +4.3%) -- to name few technology mega-caps -- assumed their old leadership roles. The gains broadened out to ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors by the close.

The top-weighted information technology sector (+2.4%) finished atop the standings with a 2.4% gain, followed by real estate (+2.0%), health care (+1.7%), and consumer discretionary (+1.6%). The energy sector (-0.1%) briefly turned positive late in the day but was unable to close positive, reflecting a lack of investor confidence in the space.

The cruise line industry, meanwhile, could be on the verge of an inflection point, according to Barclays. The firm upgraded Royal Caribbean (RCL 64.59, +4.62, +7.7%), Carnival (CCL 15.07, +1.33, +9.7%), and Norwegian (NCLH 16.63, +2.00, +13.7%) to Overweight from Equal Weight on a favorable risk/reward profile.

Costco (COST 342.58, -4.42, -1.3%) was a notable exception today despite the company beating earnings estimates and reporting in-line revenue and comparable sales results. On a related note, Telsey Advisory Group raised its price target on the stock to $390 from $385.

The U.S. Treasury market remained uneventful. The 2-yr yield finished flat at 0.13%, and the 10-yr yield declined one basis point to 0.66%. The U.S. Dollar Index advanced 0.3% to 94.59. WTI crude futures shed 0.2%, or $0.09, to settle at $40.22/bbl.

Reviewing Friday's economic data:

Durable goods orders increased 0.4% m/m in August (Briefing.com consensus +0.9%) following an upwardly revised 11.7% increase (from 11.2%) in July. Excluding transportation, orders were also up 0.4% (Briefing.com consensus 1.0%) following an upwardly revised 3.2% increase (from 2.4%) in July.
The key takeaway from the report is that order increases were seen across most categories, as manufacturing needs continued to recover from their pandemic depression, yet total orders are still down 11.3% yr/yr (down 3.0%, ex-transportation).

Looking ahead, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for September, the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index for July, and the Advance August readings for Intl Trade in Goods, Retail Inventories, and Wholesale Inventories will be released on Monday.

Nasdaq Composite +21.6% YTD
S&P 500 +2.1% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -4.8% YTD
Russell 2000 -11.6% YTD

Market Snapshot
Dow 27163.96 +358.52 (1.34%)
Nasdaq 10913.59 +241.30 (2.26%)
SP 500 3298.46 +51.87 (1.60%)
10-yr Note +1/32 0.658
NYSE Adv 2138 Dec 831 Vol 800.0 mln
Nasdaq Adv 2381 Dec 934 Vol 3.7 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Information Technology, Real Estate, Health Care, Industrials
Weak: Energy

Moving the Market

-- S&P 500 ends negative week on high note

-- Mega-caps and technology stocks resumed leadership

-- Investors looked past the market uncertainty