| | | Wall Street sets new highs in broad-based rally
09-Jan-20 16:20 ET
Dow +211.81 at 28956.81, Nasdaq +74.18 at 9203.45, S&P +21.65 at 3274.70
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 rose 0.7% and closed at a record high on Thursday, as the market extended Wednesday's relief rally amid gains across all 11 S&P 500 sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.7%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.8%) also closed at record highs, while the Russell 2000 increased just 0.1%.
The ease in tensions with Iran remained conducive for risk sentiment, even as President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau echoed a Newsweek report that Iranian missiles shot down the Boeing (BA 336.34, +4.97, +1.5%) 737-800 jetliner earlier this week. There was no indication the U.S. would reconsider its de-escalation strategy, though.
Other positive factors included 1) upbeat holiday sales results, 2) several analyst upgrades, 3) weekly jobless claims returning to lower levels, and 4) China confirming Vice Premier Liu He will visit Washington from Jan. 13-15 to sign the Phase One trade deal.
Apple (AAPL 309.63, +6.44, +2.1%) led the information technology sector (+1.1%) higher after Reuters reported that iPhone sales increased 18% yr/yr in China last month. Costco (COST 299.42, +4.73, +1.6%) led the consumer staples sector (+0.7%) higher after it reported 9.0% yr/yr comparable sales growth for the five weeks ended Jan. 5.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 48.97, +1.14, +2.4%), Goldman Sachs (GS 242.60, +4.84, +2.0%), and Coca-Cola (KO 55.34, +0.99, +1.8%) were among today's stocks that were upgraded to the equivalent of a Buy rating.
Given the amount of good news today, then, it's easy to see why calls for a pullback remained unanswered. The persistent bullish momentum in the market exacerbated a fear of missing out on further gains amid a lack of detrimental developments.
It's worth noting, though, that Kohl's (KSS 46.15, -3.23, -6.5%) did issue an earnings warning and Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY 13.45, -3.20, -19.2%) withdrew its full-year guidance on top of reporting disappointing results. The broader market was not surprised or bothered by the news.
U.S. Treasuries finished the session slightly higher. The 2-yr yield declined one basis point to 1.57%, and the 10-yr yield declined two basis points to 1.86%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.1% to 97.44. WTI crude declined 0.1% to $59.54/bbl.
Thursday's economic data was limited to the weekly Initial and Continuing Claims report:
- Initial jobless claims for the week ending January 4 decreased by 9,000 to 214,000 (Briefing.com consensus 225,000). Continuing claims for the week ending December 28 increased by 75,000 to 1.803 million.
- The key takeaway from the report is that initial claims have settled back down at lower levels, which reflect ongoing tightness in the labor market.
Looking ahead, investors will receive the Employment Situation Report for December and Wholesale Inventories for November on Friday.
- Nasdaq Composite +2.6% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.5% YTD
- S&P 500 +1.4% YTD
- Russell 2000 -0.2% YTD
Market Snapshot
| Dow | 28956.81 | +211.81 | (0.74%) | | Nasdaq | 9203.45 | +74.18 | (0.81%) | | SP 500 | 3274.70 | +21.65 | (0.67%) | | 10-yr Note | +4/32 | 1.859 |
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| | NYSE | Adv 1606 | Dec 1255 | Vol 875.9 mln | | Nasdaq | Adv 1881 | Dec 1289 | Vol 2.5 bln |
Industry Watch
| Strong: Information Technology, Financials, Energy |
| | Weak: Real Estate, Communication Services |
Moving the Market
-- Stock market closes at record highs in broad-based rally led by the technology stocks
-- Continuation of market's bullish momentum
-- Upbeat holiday sales results, analyst upgrades, trade optimism, constructive jobless claims report
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WTI crude settles slightly lower
09-Jan-20 15:25 ET
Dow +185.49 at 28930.49, Nasdaq +58.59 at 9187.86, S&P +17.14 at 3270.19
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 is on pace to close at a record high today as it trades higher by 0.5%.
One last look inside the benchmark index shows all 11 sectors contributing to the advance. The information technology sector (+0.9%) remains on top, and the energy sector (+0.7%) has recovered its intraday losses to join the tech group atop the standings. The real estate sector is up 0.2%.
WTI crude settled down $0.08 (-0.1%) to $59.54/bbl. |
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