Late fade takes down S&P 500, but not Nasdaq
06-May-20 16:15 ET
Dow -218.45 at 23664.64, Nasdaq +45.27 at 8854.41, S&P -20.02 at 2848.42
briefing.com
[BRIEFING.COM] Mega-cap technology stocks carried the Nasdaq Composite to a 0.5% gain on Wednesday, but another late fade in the market left the S&P 500 (-0.7%), Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.9%), and Russell 2000 (-0.8%) in negative territory.
For most of the day, money continued to flow into Apple (AAPL 300.63, +3.07, +1.0%), Microsoft (MSFT 182.54, +1.78, +1.0%), Amazon (AMZN 2351.26, +33.46, +1.4%), Facebook (FB 208.47, +1.40, +0.7%), and Alphabet (GOOG 1347.30, -3.81, -0.3%). Typically, wherever these stocks move, the broader market follows.
That wasn't the case today, but the S&P 500 sectors that house these companies -- information technology (+0.7%), consumer discretionary (+0.3%), and communication services (-0.4%) -- had done a good job in offsetting the losses in the other eight sectors, including utilities (-3.5%), energy (-2.6%), and financials (-2.3%).
The late fade, reminiscent of the one from yesterday, took down shares of Alphabet, the communication services sector, and the S&P 500, which had been hovering near its flat line for most of the afternoon.
The lack of conviction prior to the decline might have stemmed from the ADP Employment Change Report estimating 20.236 million job lost in the private sector in April (Briefing.com consensus -21.500 million). The market hasn't been bothered by bad data as of late, but it has been stuck at these levels for a few weeks now, showing signs of exhaustion.
Separately, earnings standouts today included General Motors (GM 21.89, +0.63, +3.0%), Activision Blizzard (ATVI 72.87, +4.34, +6.3%), and Beyond Meat (BYND 126.21, +26.04, +26.0%). Walt Disney (DIS 100.88, -0.18, -0.2%) declined less than the broad market despite suspending its semi-annual dividend.
In the Treasury market, some investors were caught off guard by the amount of longer-dated maturities the Treasury Department planned to issue for COVID-19 relief. The 2-yr yield was unchanged at 0.17%, while the 10-yr yield increased five basis points to 0.71%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.5% to 100.18. WTI crude lost 2.4%, or $0.58, to $23.95/bbl.
Reviewing Wednesday's economic data:
- The ADP Employment Change report pointed to a net loss of 20.236 million nonfarm payrolls in April (Briefing.com consensus -21.5 million) while the March reading was revised down to -149,000 from -27,000.
- The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index increased 0.1% following a 3.3% decline in the prior week.
Looking ahead, investors will receive the weekly Initial and Continuing Claims report, preliminary Q1 readings for Productivity and Unit Labor Costs, and the March Consumer Credit Report on Thursday.
- Nasdaq Composite -1.3% YTD
- S&P 500 -11.8% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average -17.1% YTD
- Russell 2000 -24.3% YTD
Market Snapshot
| Dow | 23664.64 | -218.45 | (-0.91%) | | Nasdaq | 8854.41 | +45.27 | (0.51%) | | SP 500 | 2848.42 | -20.02 | (-0.70%) | | 10-yr Note | -4/32 | 0.705 |
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| | NYSE | Adv 901 | Dec 1983 | Vol 904.5 mln | | Nasdaq | Adv 1304 | Dec 1888 | Vol 3.6 bln |
Industry Watch
| Strong: Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary |
| | Weak: Financials, Utilities, Energy |
Moving the Market
-- Late fade takes down broad market, but not Nasdaq amid mega-cap strength
-- ADP Employment report showed an estimated 20 million private-sector jobs lost in April
-- Longer-dated Treasuries faced selling pressure
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WTI crude snaps five-session winning streak
06-May-20 15:25 ET
Dow -39.90 at 23843.19, Nasdaq +96.66 at 8905.80,
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 continues to trade little changed at its flat line, while the Nasdaq (+1.1%) is on pace to end the day higher by 1%.
One last look at the S&P 500 sectors shows the information technology (+1.4%), consumer discretionary (+0.7%), and communication services (+0.5%) sectors as the only sectors in positive territory. Laggards include the utilities (-2.6%) and findustrials (-1.5%) sectors.
WTI crude futures snapped a five-session winning streak and closed lower by 2.4% (-$0.58) to $23.95/bbl.
Don't think anyone has heard anything new from Gottfried for a while. He had some health issues that set him back. Hopefully he is recovered and doing well. Regardless both his efforts and Don's are missed by all here!
RtS |
