Market snaps winning streak amid sell-the-news events
13-Oct-20 16:15 ET
Dow -157.71 at 28679.75, Nasdaq -12.36 at 11863.83, S&P -22.29 at 3511.93
briefing.com
[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices snapped four-session winning streaks on Tuesday, as discouraging health developments and cautious-minded commentary from high-profile banks tempered investor enthusiasm. The S&P 500 (-0.6%), Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.6%) and Russell 2000 (-0.7%) declined around 0.6%, while Nasdaq Composite declined 0.1%.
Weakness was found primarily in value-oriented and cyclical sectors like financials (-1.9%), real estate (-1.7%), energy (-1.6%), and industrials (-1.1%). The communication services (+0.3%) and consumer discretionary (+0.03%) sectors closed slightly higher.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM 100.78, -1.66, -1.6%), Citigroup (C 43.63, -2.25, -4.9%), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 148.36, -3.48, -2.3%) kicked off the Q3 earnings-reporting season with better-than-expected quarterly results, but their reports were a seeming afterthought for the market.
That's because JPMorgan said another fiscal relief package, which has been elusive, would simply improve the odds of better economic outcomes; Citigroup said it expects a somewhat more muted and slower recovery in both unemployment and GDP through 2022; and JNJ paused its COVID-19 vaccine trials due to an unexpected illness in a patient.
The S&P 500 fell to session lows (-0.9%) shortly after it was reported that Eli Lilly (LLY 150.08, -4.41, -2.9%) paused its antibody trial for safety reasons, but the benchmark index found support at the 3500 level.
For some perspective, the set-up wasn't good for the banks or the market. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE 32.25, -0.95, -2.9%) was up 17.7% since Sept. 23, versus a 9.2% gain in the S&P 500, suggesting there might have been a sell-the-news mindset. The same could be said of Apple (AAPL 121.10, -3.30), which declined 2.7% after it rose more than 6% yesterday in front of today's iPhone 12 event.
Within the communication services sector, Walt Disney (DIS 128.96, +3.99, +3.2%) announced a strategic reorganization for its media and entertainment businesses while Netflix (NFLX 554.09, +14.28, +2.7%) reportedly removed free trial offerings for U.S. subscribers. Shareholders liked both news.
U.S. Treasuries ended the session with gains that caused some curve-flattening activity. The 2-yr yield declined one basis point to 0.15%, and the 10-yr yield declined five basis points to 0.73%. The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.5% to 93.53. WTI crude futures increased 2.2%, or $0.85, to $40.19/bbl.
Reviewing Tuesday's economic data:
- Total CPI and core CPI, which excludes food energy, were both up 0.2% m/m in September, as expected. That left the yr/yr readings at 1.4% and 1.7%, respectively, which is to say they are hanging on the Fed's average 2.0% inflation target like a wet blanket.
- The key takeaway from the report is that there are pockets of inflation excess, but overall, the inflation rate isn't going to be ringing any tightening alarm bells at the Federal Reserve.
- The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index increased 104.0 in September following a 100.2 reading in August.
Looking ahead, investors will receive the Producer Price Index for September, the Fed Beige Book for September, and the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index on Wednesday.
- Nasdaq Composite +32.2% YTD
- S&P 500 +8.7% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average +0.5% YTD
- Russell 2000 -1.9% YTD
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