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Market closes mixed in resilient session
23-Feb-21 16:10 ET
Dow +15.66 at 31537.35, Nasdaq -67.85 at 13465.23, S&P +4.87 at 3881.37

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

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 increased 0.1% on Tuesday, overcoming an early 1.8% decline in one of its more resilient sessions of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.1% after being down 1.2% intraday, while the Nasdaq Composite (-0.5%) and Russell 2000 (-0.9%) decreased modestly after both were down more than 3.5% intraday.

Mega-cap, growth, and technology stocks were influential laggards in early action, presumably due to rate angst, profit taking, and rotational pressure that benefited value/cyclical stocks. Aside from the Nasdaq, these laggards were found primarily in the information technology sector (-0.3%), the consumer discretionary sector (-0.5%), and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (-0.6%).

At their lows, the tech sector was down 3.4%, the consumer discretionary sector was down 4.0%, and the chip index was down 4.6%. In addition, the S&P 500 came within ten points of its 50-day moving average (3797). Note, this was right before Fed Chair Powell's prepared remarks for his semiannual congressional testimony were released at around 10:00 a.m. ET.

Mr. Powell didn't say anything particularly new on the economy or monetary policy, reminding lawmakers that the economy is a long way from its employment and inflation goals and that it'll take some time for substantial further progress on those fronts. The market saw this as an affirmation of the Fed's dovish monetary policy for the foreseeable future.

Seemingly on cue, investors started to buy the dip in every sector that was down. The energy (+1.6%), communication services (+1.1%), utilities (+0.8%), and financials (+0.5%) sectors finished with the biggest gains, although declining issues still outnumbered advancing issues at the NYSE and Nasdaq.

At the individual stock level, shares of Home Depot (HD 267.24, -8.61, -3.1%) fell 3% despite its better-than-expected earnings report. Shares of Snap (SNAP 70.45, +7.04, +11.1%) rose 11% after the company noted that its ad platform can drive 50% revenue growth for years to come.

The U.S. Treasury market was a little more stable today, which might have supported risk sentiment. The 2-yr yield decreased one basis point to 0.10%, and the 10-yr yield decreased one basis point to 1.36%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.2% to 90.14. WTI crude futures were little changed at $61.68/bbl.

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data:

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index increased to 91.3 in February (Briefing.com consensus 91.0) from a downwardly revised 88.9 (from 89.3) in January.
The key takeaway from the report is that attitudes about current conditions improved for the first time in four months, aided by some improvement in the view of labor market conditions.
The FHFA Housing Price Index increased 1.1% in February following a 1.0% increase in January.
The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index increased 10.1% in December (Briefing.com consensus 9.8%) following an upwardly revised 9.2% reading in November (from +9.1%).

Looking ahead, investors will receive New Home Sales for January and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index on Wednesday.

Russell 2000 +13.0% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +4.5% YTD
S&P 500 +3.3% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +3.0% YTD

Market Snapshot
Dow 31537.35 +15.66 (0.05%)
Nasdaq 13465.23 -67.85 (-0.50%)
SP 500 3881.37 +4.87 (0.13%)
10-yr Note 0/32 1.338
NYSE Adv 1206 Dec 1950 Vol 1.3 bln
Nasdaq Adv 1126 Dec 2787 Vol 7.4 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Energy, Communication Services, Utilities, Financials
Weak: Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, Health Care

Moving the Market

-- Market closes mixed in resilient session, growth stocks underperformed

-- Fed Chair Powell reiterates dovish monetary policy stance before the Senate Banking Committee

-- Technical support just above the S&P 500's 50-day moving average (3797)

Market turns positive
23-Feb-21 15:30 ET
Dow +127.97 at 31649.66, Nasdaq -10.62 at 13522.46, S&P +18.09 at 3894.59

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 has turned positive with a 0.3% gain, which is an impressive feat considering it was down 1.8% to start the day. There's simply no quit in this bull market, equipped with a "buy the dip" and "diamond hands" lexicon.

Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors are now contributing to the advance, with the exception being consumer discretionary (-0.2%), which was down 4.0% at its intraday low. The energy sector remains atop the standings with a 1.8% gain.

WTI crude futures finished little changed at $61.68/bbl.