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Major indices close slightly lower in indecisive session
21-Oct-20 16:20 ET
Dow -97.97 at 28210.76, Nasdaq -31.80 at 11484.62, S&P -7.56 at 3435.56

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

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 decreased 0.2% on Wednesday in an indecisive session that was attributed to the uncertain outcome of stimulus talks. The Nasdaq Composite (-0.3%) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.4%) posted comparable declines, while the Russell 2000 underperformed with a 0.9% decline.

After making progress in negotiations yesterday, House Speaker Pelosi said she was feeling optimistic and still wanted an agreement before the election. Negotiations continued today without a clear indication of the next steps, though. On a related note, the Senate failed to pass a $500 billion stimulus bill today, as expected.

Essentially, stimulus was a non-story today. One of the more interesting developments was the strong performance of the communication services sector (+1.3%), which was powered by Alphabet (GOOG 1593.31, +37.38, +2.4%), Facebook (FB 278.73, +11.17, +4.2%), and Twitter (TWTR 50.23, +3.88, +8.4%) following stellar earnings results from Snap (SNAP 36.50, +8.05, +28.3%).

Obfuscated was the 7% decline in Netflix (NFLX 489.05, -36.37, -6.9%), which missed subscriber estimates. Elsewhere, the energy sector dropped 2.0% amid lower oil prices ($40.03/bbl, -$1.48, -3.6%), and the industrials sector fell 1.0% amid broad-based selling.

Separately, Verizon (VZ 56.75, -0.50, -0.9%), Abbott Labs (ABT 105.93, -2.43, -2.2%), and Texas Instruments (TXN 146.13, -4.70, -3.2%) closed lower despite each reporting better-than-expected earnings results and providing upbeat guidance. PayPal (PYPL 213.07, +11.11, +5.5%) pleasantly surprised investors by implementing cryptocurrency services.

In the Treasury market, the 10-yr yield increased for the fifth straight session, closing two basis point higher at 0.82% on growing expectations for inflation resulting from another stimulus package. The 2-yr yield was unchanged at 0.15%. The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.5% to 92.64.

Wednesday's economic data was limited to the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index, which decreased 0.6% following a 0.7% decline in the prior week. Looking ahead, investors will receive the weekly Initial and Continuing Claims report, Existing Home Sales for September, and the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for September on Thursday.

Nasdaq Composite +28.0% YTD
S&P 500 +6.3% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -1.2% YTD
Russell 2000 -3.9% YTD

Market Snapshot
Dow 28210.76 -97.97 (-0.35%)
Nasdaq 11484.62 -31.80 (-0.28%)
SP 500 3435.56 -7.56 (-0.22%)
10-yr Note -3/32 0.817
NYSE Adv 1036 Dec 1968 Vol 849.4 mln
Nasdaq Adv 1277 Dec 2147 Vol 3.4 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Communication Services, Consumer Staples
Weak: Energy, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary

Moving the Market

-- Major indices close slightly lower in indecisive session; stimulus uncertainty

-- Strength in the communications services sector after Snap (SNAP) delivered strong earnings report

WTI crude futures settle sharply lower while yields increase
21-Oct-20 15:30 ET
Dow +31.74 at 28340.47, Nasdaq +43.91 at 11560.33, S&P +11.71 at 3454.83

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is up 0.2% while investors continue to await any news out of stimulus talks. The move in longer-dated Treasuries over the past week has been noteworthy.

The 10-yr yield is up two basis points to 0.82% after touching 0.69% on Oct. 15, which is indicative of investors starting to anticipate inflation caused by a large stimulus package. There is chatter if a sustained increase in yields will undercut shares of growth stocks, but so far this has yet to transpire.

WTI crude futures settled sharply lower by 3.6%, or $1.48, to $40.03/bbl.