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Market Snapshot

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

Dow 34798.00 +286.01 (0.83%)
Nasdaq 14631.95 +133.08 (0.92%)
SP 500 4358.69 +35.63 (0.82%)
10-yr Note -5/32 1.276
NYSE Adv 2395 Dec 841 Vol 856.2 mln
Nasdaq Adv 3242 Dec 1077 Vol 4.0 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Energy, Financials, Industrials, Materials
Weak: Health Care, Utilities, Real Estate

Moving the Market

-- Cyclical stocks lead advance, 10-yr yield trades sharply higher, and crude futures on the rise

-- Encouraging earnings commentary regarding the Delta variant

-- Several companies issue upbeat EPS guidance, but Netflix (NFLX) provides underwhelming subscriber guidance

Major indices extend rebound to a second straight day
21-Jul-21 16:20 ET
Dow +286.01 at 34798.00, Nasdaq +133.08 at 14631.95, S&P +35.63 at 4358.69

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market extended its rebound bias to a second day on Wednesday, as economic concerns surrounding the Delta Covid variant continued to subside. The S&P 500 (+0.8%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.9%), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.8%) rose between 0.8-0.9% while the Russell 2000 rose 1.9%.

These easing concerns were supported by earnings commentary from the CEOs of Coca-Cola (KO 56.55, +0.72, +1.3%), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG 1755.91, +181.56, +11.5%), and United Airlines (UAL 48.10, +1.78, +3.8%), who said their businesses haven't been impacted by the spread of the Delta variant.

For good measure, they were among a host of companies, which included Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 169.49, +1.04, +0.6%) and Verizon (VZ 55.95, +0.37, +0.7%), that beat EPS estimates. The Dow components -- KO, JNJ, and VZ -- also provided upbeat FY21 EPS guidance.

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors contributed to the steady advance, which was appropriately paced by the cyclical energy (+3.5%), financials (+1.7%), materials (+1.1%), and industrials (+1.0%) sectors. The defensive-oriented utilities (-1.1%), real estate (-0.4%) and consumer staples (-0.1%) sectors closed lower.

Financial and energy stocks drew additional support from some curve-steepening activity and higher oil prices ($70.28, +2.96, +4.4%), both of which corroborated the belief that the Delta variant may not have a material impact on the economy as some previously feared. WTI crude futures closed back above $70 per barrel.

The 10-yr yield increased seven basis points to 1.28% while the 2-yr yield increased two basis points to 0.21%. The U.S. Dollar Index decreased 0.2% to 92.76. On a related note, the $24 billion 20-yr bond auction received soft demand, but that didn't invite additional selling interest in the Treasury market.

Netflix (NFLX 513.63, -17.42, -3.3%) was a notable laggard today, losing 3% after missing EPS estimates and providing underwhelming subscriber guidance for the third quarter.

Reviewing Wednesday's economic data:

The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index decreased 4.0% following a 16.0% spike in the prior week.
Weekly crude oil inventories increased by 2.11 mln barrels, which was the first inventory build reported out of the EIA in nine weeks.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the weekly Initial and Continuing Claims report, Existing Home Sales for June, and the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for June on Thursday.

S&P 500 +16.0% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +13.7% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +13.5% YTD
Russell 2000 +13.1% YTD

Crude futures settle back above $70 per barrel
21-Jul-21 15:30 ET
Dow +262.99 at 34774.98, Nasdaq +104.23 at 14603.10, S&P +30.54 at 4353.60

[BRIEFING.COM] The large-cap indices are each trading higher by about 0.7% while the Russell 2000 outperforms with a 1.8% gain.

One last look at the sector performances shows energy (+3.7%) and financials (+1.9%) getting it done with strong gains, while the utilities (-0.9%), health care (-0.04%), and consumer staples (-0.04%) sectors trade lower.

WTI crude futures settled sharply higher by 4.4%, or $2.96, to $70.28/bbl.