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Record highs for S&P 500, Dow, and Russell 2000
11-Mar-21 16:15 ET
Dow +188.57 at 32485.59, Nasdaq +329.84 at 13398.69, S&P +40.53 at 3939.34

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

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+1.0%), Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.6%), and Russell 2000 (+2.3%) set intraday and closing record highs on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite (+2.5%) played catch-up with a 2.5% gain, as the mega-cap/growth stocks found renewed buying interest.

The session started on a high note in a momentum trade, with the Dow quickly notching its fourth all-time high in four days and the broader market attracting follow through from buyers amid a fear of missing out on further gains. Today was the first closing record high for the S&P 500 since Feb. 12, thanks to an impressive 5.6% rally off last Friday's session low.

The information technology (+2.1%), communication services (+1.8%), and consumer discretionary (+1.6%) sectors, which contain many of the recently-battered mega-caps and growth stocks, did the heavy lifting. The bullish bias, however, did lose steam in the afternoon, with selling interest leaking into the financials (-0.3%), utilities (-0.3%), and consumer staples (-0.2%) sectors.

Nonetheless, there were some positive-sounding news events that supported risk sentiment.

Briefly, President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill one day earlier than expected, allowing some payments to reach bank accounts as soon as this weekend; weekly initial claims decreased by 42,000 to 712,000 (Briefing.com consensus 725,000); and the ECB said it expects to conduct asset purchases at a significantly higher pace over the next quarter than during the first months of this year.

Longer-dated Treasury yields continued to climb off overnight lows following the ECB statement before leveling off during the trading session, which included a $24 billion 30-yr bond reopening auction that was met with tepid demand. It was good enough for stocks, though, just like the 3-yr note and 10-yr note auctions earlier this week.

The 10-yr yield increased one basis point to 1.53% after touching 1.48% at its low and 1.55% at its high, while the 2-yr yield decreased two basis points to 0.13%. The U.S. Dollar Index decreased 0.5% to 91.37. WTI crude futures rose 2.4%, or $1.57, to $66.02/bbl.

Separately, Oracle (ORCL 67.44, -4.68, -6.5%) and General Electric (GE 12.27, -0.98, -7.4%) were eyesores on this record-setting day. Oracle underwhelmed investors with its earnings report and guidance. GE was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data:

Initial jobless claims for the week ending March 6 decreased by 42,000 to 712,000 (Briefing.com consensus 725,000), which is the lowest level of claims since the first week of last November. Continuing claims for the week ending February 27 decreased by 193,000 to 4.144 million.
The key takeaway from the initial jobless claims data is that initial claims are still high, but at least they are moving in a direction that suggests the economy is finding its growth stride again. To wit, in the first week of January, initial jobless claims were 927,000.
Job openings increased to 6.917 million in January from a revised 6.752 million in December (from 6.646 million).

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

Russell 2000 +18.4% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +6.1% YTD
S&P 500 +4.9% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +4.0% YTD

Market Snapshot
Dow 32485.59 +188.57 (0.58%)
Nasdaq 13398.69 +329.84 (2.52%)
SP 500 3939.34 +40.53 (1.04%)
10-yr Note -1/32 1.542
NYSE Adv 2375 Dec 853 Vol 1.1 bln
Nasdaq Adv 3144 Dec 861 Vol 5.9 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, Communication Services
Weak: Financials, Utilities, Consumer Staples

Moving the Market

-- S&P 500, Dow, and Russell 2000 set intraday and closing record highs

-- Renewed interest in the mega-cap/growth stocks

-- Fear of missing out on further gains

-- President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, ECB provides dovish commentary surrounding asset purchases

WTI crude futures settle above $66 per barrel
11-Mar-21 15:25 ET
Dow +227.20 at 32524.22, Nasdaq +339.96 at 13408.81, S&P +45.97 at 3944.78

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is trading higher by 1.2% and is on track to close at its first record high since Feb. 12.

One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows the information technology (+2.3%), communication services (+2.0%), and consumer discretionary (+1.7%) sectors still leading the advance. Conversely, the financials (-0.3%) and consumer staples (-0.1%) sectors are struggling below their flat lines.

WTI crude futures settled higher by 2.4%, or $1.57, to $66.02/bbl.