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Stock Market Update

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

Market Snapshot
Dow 35515.38 +15.53 (0.04%)
Nasdaq 14822.89 +6.64 (0.04%)
SP 500 4468.00 +7.17 (0.16%)
10-yr Note +18/32 1.297
NYSE Adv 1551 Dec 1689 Vol 640.1 mln
Nasdaq Adv 1562 Dec 2790 Vol 3.99 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Health Care, Consumer Staples, Communication Services, Technology, Real Estate, Utilities
Weak: Energy, Consumer Discretionary, Financials, Industrials

Moving the Market

Preliminary reading of U of Michigan sentiment survey for August plunges to lowest level since late 2011

S&P 500 and Dow inching toward fresh record highs

Chipmakers bounce after this week's underperformance

S&P 500 and Dow Continue Record Run
13-Aug-21 16:20 ET
Dow +15.53 at 35515.38, Nasdaq +6.64 at 14822.89, S&P +7.17 at 4468.00

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market ended the week on a mixed note, as the Dow (+0.04%) and S&P 500 (+0.2%) inched to fresh record highs while the Nasdaq (+0.04%) and Russell 2000 (-0.9%) underperformed.

The Friday session was subdued, with the S&P 500 bouncing inside an eight-point range. The Nasdaq spent the day just behind the benchmark index, continuing this week's trend, while weakness in small caps sent the Russell 2000 back to this week's low.

The market was undisturbed by reports from Washington that pointed to renewed uncertainty about the viability of two humongous spending bills. It also held its ground despite a big drop in the preliminary August Consumer Sentiment Survey from the University of Michigan. The survey fell to 70.2 from 81.2, stopping at its lowest level since late 2011 due to weakening sentiment about all aspects of the economy.

Seven sectors finished the day with gains that ranged from 0.1% (materials) to 0.8% (consumer staples). Top-weighted sectors like technology (+0.5%), financials (-0.7%), health care (+0.6%), and consumer discretionary (-0.3%) were mixed, which kept the broader market near the unchanged level throughout the day.

The communication services sector (+0.3%) received an early boost from Disney (DIS 181.08, +1.79, +1.0%). The media giant rallied to a three-month high in response to above-consensus results for Q3, but it spent the day in a steady pullback that trimmed its gain to 1.0% from 4.6% in morning trade.

The top-weighted technology sector returned into positive territory for the week (+0.1%) with some help from chipmakers. The PHLX Semiconductor Index climbed 0.7% to record its first gain since last Wednesday. The SOX Index narrowed this week's loss to 2.3% with leadership from AMD (AMD 110.55, +4.05, +3.8%), which revisited this week's high.

AMD was also the best performer in the broader tech sector while top components like Apple (AAPL 149.10, +0.21, +0.1%), Microsoft (MSFT 292.85, +3.04, +1.1%), and Visa (V 232.65, +0.86, +0.4%) recorded slimmer gains.

Consumer staples benefited from continued strength in Tyson Foods (TSN 81.91, +1.87, +2.3%) as the stock extended its post-earnings rally from Monday to an 18-month high.

Health care also helped the S&P 500 stay above its flat line thanks in large part to Pfizer (PFE 48.48, +1.24, +2.6%), which climbed back to its record high from Tuesday after the FDA expanded the emergency use authorization to allow for a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine in immunocompromised subjects. The news did not boost Moderna (MRNA 389.78, -1.64, -0.4%), which deepened its pullback from a record high.

Financials underperformed throughout the day as Treasuries recovered the bulk of their losses from this week, but the sector still gained 1.8% since last Friday. As for Treasuries, they rallied throughout the day with the pace slowing once the 10-yr yield was pressured back below its 200-day moving average (1.310%). The benchmark yield fell seven basis points to 1.30%.

Energy (-1.3%) finished at the bottom of the leaderboard alongside a $0.74, or 1.1%, drop in the price of crude oil to $68.37/bbl. WTI crude added $0.09 for the week.

Today's participation was well below average, as fewer than 650 mln shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.

Reviewing today's economic data:

The preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for August had a shocking decline to 70.2 (Briefing.com consensus 81.6) from the final reading of 81.2 for July. That is below the April 2020 low of 71.8 and is one of the largest monthly declines over the past 50 years
The key takeaway from the report is that the plunge in consumer sentiment wasn't just related to concerns about the Delta variant. It was linked to all aspects of the economy, the report said, from personal finances to prospects for the economy, including inflation and unemployment. Moreover, the deteriorating sentiment was seen across income, age, and education subgroups, and observed across all regions.
Import prices increased 0.3% in July after increasing a revised 1.1% (from 1.0%) in June. Excluding oil, import prices were unchanged after increasing 0.7% in June. Export prices increased 1.3% after increasing 1.2% in June while export prices excluding agriculture rose 1.6% after rising 1.1% in June.

Monday's data will be limited to the 8:30 ET release of the Empire State Manufacturing Survey (prior 43.0) followed by June Net Long-Term TIC Flows (prior -$30.20 bln) at 16:00 ET.

S&P 500 +19.0% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +16.0% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +15.0% YTD
Russell 2000 +12.6% YTD