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Airbnb, small-caps, and energy stocks win the day
10-Dec-20 16:20 ET

Dow -69.55 at 29999.20, Nasdaq +66.85 at 12405.72, S&P -4.72 at 3668.11

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

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 declined 0.1% on Thursday in a mixed session that saw the bulk of the demand go to small-caps, energy stocks, and Airbnb (ABNB 144.71, +76.71, +112.8%) in its IPO. The Russell 2000 closed at a record high with a 1.1% gain, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2%.

Airbnb more than doubled in its public debut, opening at $146 per share after pricing its IPO at $68 per share, representing the pent-up demand for newly-minted public companies. Unlike yesterday when the Nasdaq sold off following the DoorDash (DASH 186.00, -3.51, -1.9%) IPO, the reaction today was more constructive and elicited a buy-the-dip mentality.

The top-weighted S&P 500 information technology sector increased 0.1% after being down 0.9% shortly after the open. The energy sector, though, was the top performer with another 2.9% gain amid higher oil prices ($46.91, +1.42, +3.1%). Eight sectors closed lower with industrials (-0.9%) as the underperformer with a 0.9% decline.

While retail investors didn't benefit from the Airbnb IPO pop, but they did have plenty of opportunities on this stock-picker kind-of-day.

Starbucks (SBUX 105.39, +4.99, +5.0%) shares rose 5% after the company issued a stronger earnings outlook for the next few years. Snap (SNAP 53.19, +4.04, +8.2%) and Twitter (TWTR 51.21, +3.98, +8.4%) announced an integrated partnership, sending both shares sharply higher.

Adobe (ADBE 476.87, -6.87, -1.4%) reported positive earnings results and upbeat guidance, but it wasn't enough to inspire a positive stock reaction.

Separately, weekly initial jobless claims increased by 137,000 to 853,000 (Briefing.com consensus 720,000) to reach its highest level since the week of September 18. The disappointing unemployment data was perhaps an incentivizing factor for stimulus talks, which reportedly progressed today.

U.S. Treasuries finished on a higher note, more so on the longer-end of the curve. The 2-yr yield decreased one basis point to 0.14%, and the 10-yr yield decreased two basis points to 0.91%. The U.S. Dollar Index decreased 0.3% to 90.81.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data:

Initial jobless claims for the week ending December 5 increased by 137,000 to 853,000 (Briefing.com consensus 720,000) while continuing claims for the week ending November 28 increased by 230,000 to 5.757 million. This was the highest level of initial jobless claims since the week of September 18.
The latest initial claims data is a headwind on the surface, but may ultimately be construed as a tailwind beneath the surface because it was terrible. The connection for the market is that, because it was terrible, it might compel Congress to stop all the bickering and reach an agreement on stimulus before the December recess.
Total CPI and core CPI both increased 0.2% m/m in November. The former was above the 0.1% Briefing.com consensus while the latter was in line.
The key takeaway from the report is that there aren't any inflation alarm bells (or rate-hike bells) ringing in this report for the Fed seeing that the yr/yr increases for total CPI and core CPI held steady at 1.2% and 1.6%, respectively.
The Treasury Budget showed a $145.3 bln deficit in November, marking the 66th time over the last 67 fiscal years that November -- which has no major tax due dates -- has seen a deficit. The budget data is not seasonally adjusted, so the November deficit cannot be compared to the October deficit of $284.1 bln.
The key takeaway from the report is the recognition that spending was down by a sizable amount yr/yr, which helped offset the budget impact of a small yr/yr decline in receipts.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the Producer Price Index for November and the preliminary University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for December on Friday.

Nasdaq Composite +38.3% YTD
Russell 2000 +15.2% YTD
S&P 500 +13.5% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +5.1% YTD


Market Snapshot
Dow 29999.20 -69.55 (-0.23%)
Nasdaq 12405.72 +66.85 (0.54%)
SP 500 3668.11 -4.72 (-0.13%)
10-yr Note +4/32 0.903

NYSE Adv 1646 Dec 1434 Vol 965.8 mln
Nasdaq Adv 2232 Dec 1389 Vol 4.4 bln


Industry Watch
Strong: Energy, Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary

Weak: Utilities, Communication Services, Industrials


Moving the Market
-- Market trades mixed

-- Airbnb (ABNB) more than doubles in IPO

-- Energy stocks outperform



WTI crude futures settle at highest level since early March
10-Dec-20 15:25 ET

Dow -48.78 at 30019.97, Nasdaq +59.91 at 12398.78, S&P -3.82 at 3669.01
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is trading lower by 0.1% in a lackluster session for the benchmark index.

One last look at the S&P 500 sector shows energy (+2.9%) still setting the leadership pace with a 3% gain. No other sector is up more than 0.2%, while the industrials (-0.9%), communication services (-0.5%), and real estate (-0.4%) sectors lag with modest gains.

WTI crude futures settled sharply higher by 3.1%, or $1.42, to $46.91/bbl -- its highest price since early March. Futures did settle slightly off session highs, though.