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Market Snapshot

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

Dow 35366.26 +30.55 (0.09%)
Nasdaq 15019.78 +77.15 (0.52%)
SP 500 4486.23 +6.70 (0.15%)
10-yr Note -1/32 1.267
NYSE Adv 2218 Dec 1028 Vol 781.2 mln
Nasdaq Adv 2844 Dec 1611 Vol 3.8 bln

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

Moving the Market

-- S&P 500 and Nasdaq drift further into record territory

-- Cyclical sectors outperformed the defensive-oriented sectors

-- Positive earnings reports, better-than-expected new home sales report for July

-- Increased risk-taking activity

S&P 500 and Nasdaq drift further into record territory
24-Aug-21 16:20 ET
Dow +30.55 at 35366.26, Nasdaq +77.15 at 15019.78, S&P +6.70 at 4486.23

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.2%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.5%) rose modestly on Tuesday, setting intraday and closing record highs in a tame session. The Nasdaq topped the 15,000 level for the first time ever while the S&P 500 flirted with the 4,500 level.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased just 0.1%. The Russell 2000 outperformed its large-cap peers with a 1.0% gain.

Risk sentiment seemed to draw support from several factors, including upbeat earnings news, better-than-expected new home sales data for July, decent rebound gains in Chinese technology stocks, and yesterday's reports that the Delta variant could be peaking in the U.S.

Despite the relative strength of the Nasdaq, there was a pro-cyclical disposition: The S&P 500 energy (+1.6%), consumer discretionary (+0.8%), materials (+0.7%), financials (+0.7%), and industrials (+0.5%) sectors finished atop the sector standings. Energy stocks derived their strength from the continued rebound in oil prices ($67.50, +1.90, +2.9%)

Conversely, the consumer staples (-0.8%), real estate (-0.7%), utilities (-0.6%), and health care (-0.3%) sectors closed lower for the second straight day. The information technology sector (-0.1%) was pinned down by softness in Apple (AAPL 149.62, -0.09, -0.1%) and Microsoft (MSFT 302.62, -2.03, -0.7%).

The underperformance of the defensive-oriented sectors coincided with increased risk-taking activity. For example, shares of GameStop (GME 210.29, +45.40, +27.5%) and AMC Entertainment (AMC 44.26, +7.48, +20.3%) rose more than 20.0% in the afternoon on no specific news.

Separately, Best Buy (BBY 121.49, +9.33, +8.3%), Palo Alto Networks (PANW 441.87, +69.30, +18.6%), and Medtronic (MDT 132.57, +4.09, +3.2%) were some of the earnings-related gainers. Alibaba (BABA 171.70, +10.64, +6.6%) and JD.com (JD 75.22, +9.49, +14.4%) were two Chinese stocks that saw some much-needed relief.

Unlike yesterday, longer-dated Treasury yields increased in sympathy with the cyclical bias. The 10-yr yield rose four basis points to 1.29% while the 2-yr yield slipped one basis point to 0.22% following a strong $60 bln 2-yr note auction. The U.S. Dollar Index decreased 0.2% to 92.88.

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data:

New home sales increased 1.0% month-over-month in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 708,000 (Briefing.com consensus 700,000) from an upwardly revised 701,000 (from 676,000) in June. On a yr/yr basis, which encompasses a tough pandemic comparison period, new home sales were down 27.2%.
In economic data:
The key takeaway from the report is that new home sales, which are counted when contracts are signed, are being squeezed by cost constraints that are making it less enticing for builders to build lower-priced homes and by affordability pressures that are making it more challenging for prospective buyers to buy higher-priced homes.

Looking ahead, investors will receive Durable Goods Orders for July and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index on Wednesday.

S&P 500 +19.4% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +16.5% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +15.6% YTD
Russell 2000 +13.0% YTD

Crude futures add to rebound gains
24-Aug-21 15:30 ET
Dow +74.22 at 35409.93, Nasdaq +90.59 at 15033.22, S&P +12.57 at 4492.10

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is up 0.3% and is on track to close at a record high. One last look at the sector standing shows a divide between the cyclical and counter-cyclical sectors.

The energy (+1.8%), consumer discretionary (+1.0%), financials (+0.8%), materials (+0.8%), and industrials (+0.6%) are outperforming in positive territory, while the consumer staples (-0.7%), real estate (-0.6%), utilities (-0.5%), and health care (-0.2%) sectors trade lower.

WTI crude futures settled higher by 2.9%, or $1.90, to $67.50 per barrel.