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S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 close at record highs
04-Feb-21 16:15 ET
Dow +332.26 at 31055.86, Nasdaq +167.20 at 13777.75, S&P +41.57 at 3871.74

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

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 rose 1.1% on Thursday to extend its win streak to four sessions and close at a record high. The Nasdaq Composite (+1.2%) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.1%) kept pace with the benchmark index, while the Russell 2000 (+2.0%) pulled ahead with a 2% gain. The Nasdaq and Russell 2000 also closed at record highs.

Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished in positive territory, including the financials sector (+2.3%) atop the standings in a continuation of its strong performance this week. Bank stocks benefited from another uptick in longer-dated Treasury yields. On a related note, the Bank of England warned UK banks to prepare for the possibility of negative interest rates.

Apple (AAPL 137.39, +3.45, +2.6%) was a key market-mover today amid reports that it's nearing a deal with Hyundai-Kia to manufacture the "Apple Car," an autonomous electric vehicle. With additional support from earnings-driven gains in PayPal (PYPL 270.43, +18.53, +7.4%) and eBay (EBAY 61.12, +3.08, +5.3%), the information technology sector gained 1.6%.

On the downside, the materials sector (-0.5%) was the lone sector holdout amid lower metal prices and weakness in Air Products (APD 256.70, -19.90, -7.2%) despite its positive earnings report.

Other laggards included Qualcomm (QCOM 147.97, -14.33, -8.8%), Merck (MRK 76.03, -1.29, -1.7%), UnitedHealth (UNH 329.32, -8.57, -2.5%), and GameStop (GME 53.50, -38.91, -42.1%). Note, the continued weakness in GameStop was cited as a positive factor for sentiment since it appeared to represent the capitulation of last week's short-squeeze mania.

Qualcomm delivered better-than-expected earnings results but warned that supply constraints are preventing it from fully meeting the robust chip demand. Merck and UnitedHealth said their CEOs will retire later this year; Merck also missed top and bottom-line estimates but issued upbeat FY21 guidance.

Evidently, the negative reactions today didn't necessarily follow bad news, which likely bolstered confidence in the broader rally effort.

In the Treasury market, the benchmark 10-yr yield increased one basis point to 1.14% after touching 1.16% at its high. The 2-yr yield was unchanged at 0.11%. The U.S. Dollar Index advanced 0.4% to 91.51. WTI crude futures increased 0.9%, or $0.52, to $55.70/bbl.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data:

Initial jobless claims for the week ending January 30 declined by 33,000 from the prior week to 779,000 (Briefing.com consensus 825,000). Continuing claims for the week ending January 23 decreased by 193,000 to 4.592 million.
The key takeaway from the report is that the level of initial claims improved; however, they didn't improve nearly enough to drown out calls highlighting the need for additional stimulus and extended jobless benefits.
Productivity in the fourth quarter decreased from the previous quarter at an annual rate of 4.8% (Briefing.com consensus -2.8%). Third quarter productivity was revised up to a 5.1% increase from 4.6%. Unit labor costs jumped at an annual rate of 6.8% (Briefing.com consensus 3.3%) following a downwardly revised 7.0% decline (from -6.6%) in the third quarter.
The key takeaway from the report is that the drop in productivity was the largest quarterly decline since the second quarter of 1981.
Factory orders for manufactured goods increased 1.1% m/m in December (Briefing.com consensus 0.7%) after increasing an upwardly revised 1.3% (from 1.0%) in November. This is the eighth consecutive monthly increase in factory orders.
The key takeaway from the report is that it showed another increase in business spending, as nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft increased 0.7% in December after increasing 1.2% in November.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the Employment Situation Report for January, the Trade Balance for December, and Consumer Credit for December on Friday.

Russell 2000 +11.5% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +6.9% YTD
S&P 500 +3.1% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.5% YTD

Market Snapshot
Dow 31055.86 +332.26 (1.08%)
Nasdaq 13777.75 +167.20 (1.23%)
SP 500 3871.74 +41.57 (1.09%)
10-yr Note 0/32 1.140
NYSE Adv 2319 Dec 854 Vol 939.0 mln
Nasdaq Adv 2838 Dec 1029 Vol 7.1 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Financials, Information Technology, Industrials, Energy
Weak: Materials

Moving the Market

-- S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Russell 2000 close at record highs amid positive momentum

-- Financial stocks outperformed

-- Apple (AAPL) provided key leadership amid EV reports

WTI crude futures extend weekly gains
04-Feb-21 15:25 ET
Dow +248.72 at 30972.32, Nasdaq +126.73 at 13737.28, S&P +30.46 at 3860.63

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 continues to hold onto a 0.8% gain, which puts it in record-close watch.

One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows financials (+1.8%) and information technology (+1.1%) still leading the advance with gains over 1.0%. Conversely, the materials sector (-0.6%) is the only group trading lower right now amid a 7% post-earnings decline in Air Products (APD 256.02, -20.58, -7.4%).

WTI crude futures settled the session higher by 0.9%, or $0.52, to $55.70/bbl. Crude futures are now up more than 7.5% this week.