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Market Snapshot

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

Dow 35753.89 +261.19 (0.74%)
Nasdaq 15521.88 +180.81 (1.18%)
SP 500 4696.56 +47.33 (1.02%)
10-yr Note +7/32 1.457
NYSE Adv 2442 Dec 843 Vol 715.4 mln
Nasdaq Adv 2748 Dec 1805 Vol 3.99 bln

Industry Watch
Strong: Consumer Discretionary, Technology, Real Estate, Communication Services, Materials
Weak: Consumer Staples, Utilities, Industrials

Moving the Market

Q3 GDP revised up to 2.3% from 2.1% in final estimate

Discretionary sector paces early advance

Gains in most global markets reflect improved sentiment

Nasdaq Paces Wednesday Rally
22-Dec-21 16:15 ET
Dow +261.19 at 35753.89, Nasdaq +180.81 at 15521.88, S&P +47.33 at 4696.56

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market ended Wednesday on a firmly higher note with the Nasdaq (+1.2%) finishing ahead of the S&P 500 (+1.0%) and Dow (+0.7%).

The Wednesday advance unfolded in steady fashion, and it followed a positive showing from global equity markets. Reports from Washington remained focused on the administration's fiscal spending plans, which are expected to face continued resistance from Senator Manchin, who indicated that he would like to see spending proposals go through the reconciliation process.

All eleven sectors finished the day in positive territory with the consumer discretionary sector (+1.7%) ending in the lead while eight of the remaining ten groups recorded gains of under 1.0%. Top-weighted technology (+1.3%) finished behind the discretionary sector while industrials (+0.3%) and utilities (+0.4%) finished at the bottom of the leaderboard.

The discretionary sector drew support from gains in most components, though Tesla (TSLA 1008.87, +70.34, +7.5%) was a big driver of the outperformance, rallying back toward its 50-day moving average (1032.61) after CEO Musk said that he has "sold enough stock." Tesla's outperformance masked relative weakness in Amazon (AMZN 3420.74, +12.40, +0.4%) while CarMax (KMX 127.87, -9.12, -6.7%) fell past its 200-day moving average (132.46) to its lowest level since early October after its Q3 beat was marred by contracting margins.

As for technology, the influential group received support from gains in its largest components like Apple (AAPL 175.64, +2.65, +1.5%), Microsoft (MSFT 333.20, +5.91, +1.8%), Visa (V 217.96, +2.58, +1.2%), and Mastercard (MA 357.48, +6.74, +1.9%), which masked relative weakness among chipmakers. However, the PHLX Semiconductor Index (+0.9%) rallied into the close, narrowing its performance gap.

The health care sector (+1.2%) also finished among the leaders thanks to gains in all but six of its components. Pfizer (PFE 59.55, +0.60, +1.0%) climbed toward its record high from Monday after the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for the company's antiviral coronavirus treatment.

The industrials sector (+0.3%) finished at the bottom of the leaderboard, due in part to underperformance from transport stocks that kept the Dow Jones Transportation Average near its unchanged level into the close.

Treasuries climbed with the 10-yr yield slipping three basis points to 1.46%. WTI crude rose $1.66, or 2.3%, to $72.77/bbl, revisiting its high from last week.

Reviewing today's economic data:

The third estimate for Q3 GDP showed an upward revision to 2.3% (Briefing.com consensus 2.1%) from the second estimate of 2.1%. The GDP Price Deflator was revised to 6.0% (Briefing.com consensus 5.9%) from the second estimate of 5.9%.
The key takeaway from the report is that the growth had a lot to do with the change in private inventories. Real final sales of domestic product, which excludes the change in private inventories, were up 0.1%.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index increased to 115.8 in December (Briefing.com consensus 111.5) from an upwardly revised 111.9 (from 109.5) in November.
The key takeaway from the report is that the pickup in the short-term outlook, despite inflation pressures and the arrival of the Omicron variant, suggests consumer spending should remain a positive GDP growth driver.
Existing home sales increased 1.9% m/m in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.46 million (Briefing.com consensus 6.50 million). Total sales in November were down 2.0% from a year ago.
The key takeaway from the report is that inventory remains extremely tight. That is leading to hefty price increases and crimping sales growth in the existing home market because of the limited supply and affordability pressures for prospective buyers.
The weekly MBA Mortgage Index fell 0.6% to follow last week's 4.0% decrease. The Purchase Index fell 3.3% while the Refinance Index rose 2.2%.

The market will receive a full slate of data tomorrow, starting with November Personal Income (Briefing.com consensus 0.5%; prior 0.5%), Personal Spending (Briefing.com consensus 0.6%; prior 1.3%), PCE Prices (prior 0.6%), Core PCE Prices (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%; prior 0.6%), weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 206,000; prior 206,000), Continuing Claims (prior 1.845 mln), November Durable Orders (Briefing.com consensus 1.5%; prior -0.5%), and Durable Orders -ex transportation (Briefing.com consensus 0.6%; prior 0.5%) at 8:30 ET, followed by November New Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 770,000; prior 745,000) and the final December University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey (Briefing.com consensus 70.4; prior 70.4) at 10:00 ET.

S&P 500 +25.0% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +20.4% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +16.8% YTD
Russell 2000 +12.5% YTD

Crude Oil Nears Recent High
22-Dec-21 15:30 ET
Dow +207.34 at 35700.04, Nasdaq +129.28 at 15470.35, S&P +35.70 at 4684.93

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 trades higher by 0.8% with 30 minutes remaining in today's session. The benchmark index is now up 1.4% for the week and up 2.6% since the end of November.

All eleven sectors continue holding gains going into the home stretch, including the energy sector (+0.6%), which made a brief appearance among the leaders in early trade. The sector has climbed 2.2% this week, trading only behind the technology sector (+1.0%; +2.3% week-to-date) on this week's leaderboard.

The energy sector received support from a rising price of oil, as WTI crude climbed $1.66, or 2.3%, to $72.77/bbl, revisiting its high from last week.