Sideways Week Ends on Lower Note
20-Sep-19 16:15 ET
Dow -159.72 at 26935.07, Nasdaq -65.20 at 8117.67, S&P -14.68 at 2992.11
briefing.com
[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market ended the week on a lower note after a midday swoon pressured the S&P 500 (-0.5%) into negative territory. The benchmark index lost 0.5% for the week while the Nasdaq (-0.8%) underperformed, surrendering 0.7% since last Friday.
The trading day started with slight gains amid news that the Trump administration will temporarily exempt some Chinese products from tariffs. However, a midday report from Reuters noted that the Chinese trade delegation, which visited Washington for talks, cancelled its plan for a visit to Montana. That report knocked the major averages to session lows, fueling renewed worries about how much progress has really been made in the ongoing negotiations.
The major averages briefly recovered from their lows in the afternoon but returned toward those lows before the close as cyclical sectors struggled. The top-weighted technology sector (-1.1%) was among the worst performers, widening its loss in the afternoon. Chipmakers got off to a weak start and remained under pressure into the close. The PHLX Semiconductor Index lost 1.8%, surrendering 2.7% for the week. Xilinx (XLNX 96.55, -7.07, -6.8%) lagged from the start after the company's CFO resigned. Texas Instruments (TXN 126.67, -2.16, -1.7%) lost nearly 2.0% despite increasing its quarterly dividend.
Elsewhere in technology, Fitbit (FIT 4.10, +0.43, +11.7%) jumped to its July low after Reuters reported that the company may put itself up for sale while Apple (AAPL 217.73, -3.23, -1.5%) surrendered this week's modest gain as the company's refreshed product line hit store shelves.
Like technology, the consumer discretionary sector (-1.2%) fell to lows after the midday report cast doubt on the amount of progress in trade negotiations. General Motors (GM 37.37, -0.41, -1.1%), however, underperformed throughout the day after Dayton Daily News reported that a GM plant in Moraine, Ohio will be idled due to the ongoing UAW strike.
On the upside, countercyclical sectors like health care (+0.6%) and utilities (+0.4%) spent the day in positive territory. The health care sector extended this week's gain to 1.0%, drawing some encouragement from a report that the Senate will not endorse a plan put forth by House Speaker Pelosi to lower drug prices.
Treasuries spent the bulk of the day near their flat lines before rallying to highs in the afternoon. The 10-yr yield slipped two basis points to 1.76%.
Today's trading volume was well above average due to quadruple witching. As a result, more than 2.5 billion shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.
Participants did not receive any economic data on Friday, and Monday's calendar is also free of notable releases.
- Nasdaq +22.3% YTD
- S&P 500 +19.4% YTD
- Russell 2000 +15.6% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average +15.5% YTD
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