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Market Snapshot

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

Dow 35360.60 -39.24 (-0.11%)
Nasdaq 15259.22 -6.65 (-0.04%)
SP 500 4522.67 -6.12 (-0.14%)
10-yr Note -2/32 1.307
NYSE Adv 1819 Dec 1454 Vol 1.2 bln
Nasdaq Adv 2681 Dec 1706 Vol 4.1 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary, Real Estate
Weak: Energy, Information Technology

Moving the Market

-- Stock market closed little changed in quiet session

-- Zoom Video (ZM) dropped nearly 17% after earnings

-- Consumer consumer decreases in August

Major indices close out strong month on softer note
31-Aug-21 16:15 ET
Dow -39.24 at 35360.60, Nasdaq -6.65 at 15259.22, S&P -6.12 at 4522.67

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.1%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.04%), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.1%) closed fractionally lower on Tuesday in a quiet session. The small-cap Russell 2000 ended the session with a modest gain of 0.3%.

Buying conviction might have been lacking because of the softening economic data in the U.S. and China, a 16% decline in shares of Zoom Video (ZM 289.50, -58.00, -16.7%) following its earnings report, an observation that the gains were good in August, and a wait-and-see mindset for the August employment report at the end of the week.

Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors closed in negative territory, including energy (-0.7%) and information technology (-0.6%) at the bottom of the pack. The communication services (+0.3%), consumer discretionary (+0.4%), and real estate (+0.6%) sectors outperformed with modest gains.

Specifying the data, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index decreased to 113.8 in August (Briefing.com consensus 123.0) from 128.9 in July, the Chicago PMI for August decreased to 66.8 (Briefing.com consensus 68.0) from 73.4 in July, China's August Manufacturing PMI decelerated to 50.1, and China's August non-Manufacturing PMI slipped into contraction territory at 47.5.

The slower growth appeared to weigh on oil prices ($68.44, -0.77, -1.1%), which gave back some rebound gains, but not as much on the Treasury market. The 10-yr yield increased two basis points to 1.30% while the 2-yr yield was unchanged at 0.20%. The U.S. Dollar Index was little changed at 92.66.

In other corporate news, Bloomberg reported on a study in Belgium that showed Moderna's (MRNA 376.69, +6.00, +1.6%) COVID-19 vaccine produced twice as many antibodies as Pfizer's (PFE 46.07, -0.69, -1.5%) vaccine. DigiTimes reported that Taiwan Semi (TSM 119.01, +0.02, unch) is in discussions with suppliers to lower prices for next year by 15% in order to cut costs.

Shares of Kansas City Southern (KSU 280.67, -12.89, -4.4%) declined 4% after the Surface Transportation Board announced a unanimous decision rejecting the use of a voting trust agreement in connection with the company's proposed M&A deal.

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data:

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 113.8 in August (Briefing.com consensus 123.0) from a revised 125.1 (from 129.1) in July. The August drop sent the Index to its lowest level since February.
The key takeaway from the report is that it reflected some of the same concerns as Friday's release of the Consumer Sentiment Survey from the University of Michigan. Consumers were concerned with reports about the Delta variant of the coronavirus as well as rising food and gas prices.
The Chicago PMI for August decreased to 66.8 (Briefing.com consensus 68.0) following an unrevised 73.4 reading in July.
The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index increased 19.1% yr/yr in June (Briefing.com consensus 17.6%) following a revised 17.1% increase (from 17.0%) in May.
The FHFA Housing Price Index increased 1.6% m/m in June following a revised 1.8% increase (from 1.7%) in May.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the ISM Manufacturing Index for August, the ADP Employment Change report for August, Construction Spending for July, and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index on Wednesday.

S&P 500 +20.4% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +18.4% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +15.5% YTD
Russell 2000 +15.1% YTD

Crude futures retrace some rebound gains
31-Aug-21 15:30 ET
Dow -65.74 at 35334.10, Nasdaq -18.10 at 15247.77, S&P -8.52 at 4520.27

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is down 0.2% to trade near session lows.

One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows industrials (-0.5%), information technology (-0.5%), and materials (-0.5%) underperforming with 0.5% declines, while the real estate (+0.4%) and communication services (+0.4%) sectors outperform with modest gains.

WTI crude futures settled lower by 1.1%, or $0.77, to $68.44/bbl.