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Market Snapshot

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

Dow 34894.12 -66.57 (-0.19%)
Nasdaq 14541.77 +15.87 (0.11%)
SP 500 4405.80 +5.53 (0.13%)
10-yr Note +23/32 1.242
NYSE Adv 971 Dec 2282 Vol 918.2 mln
Nasdaq Adv 1248 Dec 3042 Vol 4.1 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Consumer Staples, Utilities, Real Estate, Health Care, Information Technology
Weak: Energy, Financials, Materials, Industrials

Moving the Market

-- Large-cap indices close little changed in a defensive session

-- Relative strength in the mega-caps and counter-cyclical stocks

-- Growth concerns lingered, as cyclical stocks struggled, oil prices weakened, and 10-yr yield dipped lower

-- Weekly initial and continuing claims continued to improve

Large-caps indices turn a weak open into a flat close
19-Aug-21 16:20 ET
Dow -66.57 at 34894.12, Nasdaq +15.87 at 14541.77, S&P +5.53 at 4405.80

[BRIEFING.COM] The large-cap indices closed little changed on Thursday, as relative strength in the growth/defensive-oriented stocks belied a mostly negative session. The S&P 500 (+0.1%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%) both gained 0.1% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.2%) lost 0.2%.

The small-cap Russell 2000 (-1.2%) dropped 1%, posting its sixth straight decline and closing below its 200-day moving average (2152) for the first time since last September.

In early action, the S&P 500 was down 0.7% amid wide-ranging concerns surrounding supply chain disruptions, vaccine efficacy, economic growth rates, the Fed's taper timeline, and an extended pullback.

Most stocks succumbed to the early selling pressure, as declining issues outpaced advancing issues by more than a 2:1 margin at the NYSE and Nasdaq. The S&P 500 energy sector (-2.7%) was easily the weakest performer, losing 2.7% as oil prices ($63.69/bbl, -1.75, -2.7%) continued to decline. The other cyclical sectors declined by less than 1.0%.

The large-cap indices didn't truly reflect the underlying weakness because the mega-caps quickly turned it around. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK 239.29, +0.96, +0.4%) gained 0.4% after being down 0.8% at the open while the top-weighted information technology sector (+1.0%) gained 1.0%.

Microsoft (MSFT 296.77, +6.04, +2.1%) rose 2% to record highs on no specific news while NVIDIA (NVDA 197.98, +7.58, +4.0%) rose 4% following its better-than-expected earnings report and upbeat revenue guidance. Cisco (CSCO 57.27, +2.12, +3.8%) was another technology standout following its earnings report.

The counter-cyclical consumer staples (+0.9%), real estate (+0.9%), health care (+0.5%), and utilities (+0.4%) sectors also supported the cause, illustrating a defensive mindset.

Interestingly, growth concerns persisted despite initial and continuing claims improving on a weekly basis, and the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) increasing 0.9% in July (Briefing.com consensus 0.8%). Weekly initial jobless claims were better than expected at 348,000 (Briefing.com consensus 370,000).

The 10-yr yield decreased three basis points to 1.24%. The 2-yr yield was unchanged at 0.21%. The U.S. Dollar Index advanced 0.5% to 93.57.

Reviewing Thursday's economic data:

For the week ending August 14, initial claims decreased 29,000 to 348,000 (Briefing.com consensus 370,000), which is the lowest reading since March 14, 2020. Continuing claims for the week ending August 7 decreased 79,000 to 2.82 million, which is also the lowest level since March 14, 2020.
The key takeaway from the report is that it covers the week in which the survey for the employment report is conducted, so the reduced (and improved) level of initial claims should help drive expectations for another strong increase in nonfarm payrolls in August.
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) increased 0.9% in July (Briefing.com consensus 0.8%) after increasing a downwardly revised 0.5% (from 0.7%) in June.
The key takeaway from the report is that overall growth was widespread, with all 10 indicators making positive contributions.

There is no economic data scheduled for Friday.

S&P 500 +17.3% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +14.0% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +12.8% YTD
Russell 2000 +8.0% YTD

WTI crude futures drop and weigh on energy stocks
19-Aug-21 15:25 ET
Dow +1.63 at 34962.32, Nasdaq +43.10 at 14569.00, S&P +13.23 at 4413.50

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is up 0.3% along with the Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%).

One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows six trading higher and five trading lower. The information technology sector (+1.2%) leads the way with a gain over 1.0%, followed by the counter-cyclical/defensive-oriented sectors. Conversely, the energy sector (-2.7%) leads the cyclical sectors lower with a 2.7% decline.

WTI crude futures settled sharply lower by 2.7%, or $1.75, to $63.69/bbl.