YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: There were few catalysts for trade today, but
the S&P 500 staged its strongest performance in two months to snap a
six-session losing streak.
Market participants were without any influential economic data
today and only a dearth of corporate announcements. Home improvement retailer Lowe's (LOW 25.60, -2.88) reported
stronger-than-expected earnings, but issued disappointing guidance, while Yahoo! (YHOO 15.58, +0.16) announced
that it will sell half of its stake in Alibaba. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 32.51,
-0.98) made it known at an industry conference that the firm has suspended its
share repurchase program, but that it intends to maintain its dividend.
As has been the case for several weeks, macro-related topics were
given the most attention. Leaders of
The euro was down narrowly around the time of the open, but it was
able to stage a solid advance against the greenback. By session's end it was up
little more than 0.3% so that it traded above $1.28.
Tech stocks lacked leadership in the early going, but the sector
eventually pushed out in front of the broad market to provide strong
leadership. The sector's 2.8% gain was led by Apple (AAPL 561.28, +30.90), which is the single largest
stock by market cap. The weight of AAPL shares and the strength of its
gains also helped the Nasdaq
outperform its counterparts, such that its gain was more than double that of
the Dow.
Telecom and Utilities lagged all session. Telecom settled at the
flat line, but Utilities eked out a 0.2% gain. Their lackluster performance
comes after they managed to limit losses last week, which marked the worst week
for the S&P 500 since November.
Last week's slide left the broad market at its lowest level since
January, so naturally many market watchers are wondering if today's big bounce
is simply owed to short covering, a bout of bargain hunting, or a combination
thereof, especially amid so few catalysts.
Crude oil trended higher for most of pit trade to set a session
high of $92.71 per barrel just before the close of floor trade. Ultimately it
settled the session with a 1.2% gain at $92.57 per barrel, marking the first
positive close for the energy component in seven sessions. Natural gas,
however, extended overnight losses. Prices fell to a session low of $2.59 per MMBtu moments before finishing the session at $2.62 per MMBtu for a 4.7% loss.
Precious metals encountered selling pressure despite a softer
dollar. Gold started its floor session in the red, falling to a session low of
$1584.50 per ounce, but it later popped into positive territory to set a
session high of $1595.90 per ounce. An ensuing struggle between buyers and
sellers caused prices to oscillate before the yellow metal settled with a 0.2%
loss at $1588.60 per ounce. Silver spent its entire pit session in negative
territory, falling as low as $28.03 per ounce in morning action. It rallied to
a session high of $28.42 per ounce, but ultimately closed at $28.31
Advancing Sectors:
Materials +3.0%, Tech +2.8%, Industrials +2.2%, Energy +2.1%, Consumer
Discretionary +1.6%, Financials +1.0%, Health Care +0.9%, Consumer Staples
+0.4%, Utilities +0.2%
Unchanged: Telecom
Declining Sectors:
NoneDJ30 +135.10 NASDAQ +68.42 NQ100 +2.7% R2K +2.3% SP400 +2.3% SP500 +20.77
NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1957/1.85 bln/582 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2577/798 mln/434