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Strong finish leads to record closes
15-Mar-21 16:15 ET
Dow +174.82 at 32953.46, Nasdaq +139.84 at 13459.72, S&P +25.60 at 3968.94

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

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.7%), Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.5%), and Russell 2000 (+0.3%) set intraday and closing record highs on Monday, thanks to a strong finish in the last 30 minutes of action. The Nasdaq Composite (+1.1%) outperformed with a 1.1% gain.

The session started on a meek note, with the major indices dipping into negative territory on no specific catalyst other than an apparent case of the Monday's after clocks moved forward an hour on Sunday. Classically, investors bought the intraday dip (S&P 500 was down 0.5% at its low), and nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors closed in the green as buyers followed through.

The information technology (+1.1%) and consumer discretionary (+1.2%) sectors provided the influential leadership for the benchmark index and were accompanied by the lightly-weighted utilities (+1.4%) and real estate (+1.2%) sectors. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index advanced 2.3%.

The energy (-1.3%) and financials (-0.6%) sectors, however, struggled throughout the day amid lower oil prices ($65.28/bbl, -0.25, -0.4%) and a decline in long-term interest rates, respectively. The 2-yr yield was unchanged at 0.14%, while the 10-yr yield decreased two basis points to 1.61%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.1% to 91.78.

Travel-related stocks like airlines and casinos were among the biggest gainers amid lingering reopening optimism.

The U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS 28.71, +1.03, +3.7%) closed at a 52-week high after TSA data showed the highest number of passengers last Friday in a year and several airlines, including Southwest (LUV 62.10, +1.07, +1.8%) and Spirit (SAVE 39.31, +0.69, +1.8%), provided operational updates that highlighted improved bookings activity in March for leisure-based travel.

Positive catalysts in the casino space included Nevada casinos increasing capacity to 50%, media reports highlighting big crowds at the Las Vegas strip, Jefferies upgrading MGM Resorts (MGM 40.96, +1.98, +5.1%) to Buy from Hold, and the S&P Dow Jones Indices naming Penn Natl Gaming (PENN 136.47, +6.00, +4.6%) and Caesars Entertainment (CZR 101.20, +0.58, +0.6%) to the S&P 500, effective March 22.

Separately, shares of Eli Lilly (LLY 189.16, -18.92, -9.1%) dropped 9% after failing to impress shareholders with expanded Phase 2 trial data for its Alzheimer's Disease drug, donanemab. Similarly, shares of Biogen (BIIB 260.13, -6.00, -2.3%) declined 2% following some cautious commentary for its Alzheimer's treatment at an analyst call.

Monday's economic data was limited to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey, which increased to 17.4 in March (Briefing.com consensus 15.0) from 12.1 in February. Looking ahead to Tuesday, investors will receive Retail Sales for February, Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for February, the NAHB Housing Market Index for March, Business Inventories for January, and Import and Export Prices for February.

Russell 2000 +19.5% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +7.7% YTD
S&P 500 +5.7% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +4.4% YTD

Market Snapshot
Dow 32953.46 +174.82 (0.53%)
Nasdaq 13459.72 +139.84 (1.05%)
SP 500 3968.94 +25.60 (0.65%)
10-yr Note +2/32 1.614
NYSE Adv 2037 Dec 1216 Vol 974.0 mln
Nasdaq Adv 2304 Dec 1768 Vol 5.8 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, Utilities, Real Estate,
Weak: Financials, Energy

Moving the Market

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

-- Nasdaq and travel-related stocks outperformed

-- Weakness in financial and energy stocks

Energy stocks underperform amid lower oil prices
15-Mar-21 15:30 ET
Dow +40.98 at 32819.62, Nasdaq +70.45 at 13390.33, S&P +7.58 at 3950.92

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is trading higher by 0.2%, while the Russell 2000 trades lower by 0.1%.

One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows utilities (+1.1%) and real estate (+1.1%) still atop the standings with 1.1% gains, followed by consumer discretionary (+0.7%). The energy (-1.6%), financials (-1.1%), and materials (-0.3%) sectors underperform in negative territory.

WTI crude futures settled lower by $0.25 (-0.4%) to $65.28/barrel.