Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market had a mixed showing. There wasn't a lot of conviction from buyers or sellers in front of Tuesday's election. The major indices ultimately closed with declines ranging from 0.3% to 0.6%, but off session lows. The Russell 2000 outperformed its peers, closing 0.4% higher.

Losses in mega caps and chipmakers had an outsized impact on index performance. Apple (AAPL 222.01, -0.90, -0.4%), Microsoft (MSFT 408.46, -1.91, -0.5%), Amazon.com (AMZN 195.78, -2.15, -1.1%), Alphabet (GOOG 170.68, -1.97, -1.1%), Meta Platforms (META 560.68, -6.48, -1.1%), Broadcom (AVGO 168.64, -0.27, -0.2%), and Tesla (TSLA 242.84, -6.14, -2.5%) were standouts from the spaces. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) settled 0.3% lower and the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) closed 0.6% lower.

The equal-weighted S&P 500, meanwhile, settled fractionally higher than Friday. Four of the S&P 500 sectors closed higher led by energy (+1.9%) and real estate (+1.1%). The former was responding to a jump in oil prices ($71.48/bbl, +1.96, +2.8%) following a Wall Street Journal report that Iran is planning a "strong and complex" response against Israel and the latter reacted favorably to a drop in market rates. 

The 10-yr yield dropped five basis points to 4.31% and the 2-yr yield dropped two basis points to 4.18%. Buying in the Treasury market reflected some tempering of expectations for an election sweep, which is integral for either presidential candidate to have a chance at getting all of their plans enacted. The market was also digesting a mediocre $58 billion 3-yr note auction.

In other news, NVIDIA (NVDA 136.05, +0.65, +0.5%) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW 374.40, +16.43, +4.6%) will be replacing Intel (INTC 22.52, -0.68, -2.9%) and Dow Inc. (DOW 47.95, -1.02, -2.1%) in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, effective prior to the open of trading on Friday, November 8.

• Nasdaq Composite: +21.1% YTD
• S&P 500: +19.8% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +10.9% YTD
• S&P Midcap 400: +11.9% YTD
• Russell 2000: +9.5% YTD

Reviewing today's economic data:

• Factory orders declined 0.5% month-over-month in September (Briefing.com consensus -0.4%) following a downwardly revised 0.8% decline (from -0.2%) in August. Excluding transportation, factory orders rose 0.1% on the heels of a 0.2% decline in August. Shipments of manufactured goods fell 0.4% in September following a 0.7% decline in August.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that transportation equipment orders (-3.1%), led by weakness in nondefense aircraft and parts orders (-22.7%) and defense aircraft and parts orders (-23.7%), were the primary basis for the decline in factory orders in September.

Tuesday's economic lineup features: September Trade Balance at 8:30 ET, final October S&P Global Services PMI at 9:45 ET, and October ISM Services at 10:00 ET. Results of Tuesday's $42 billion 10-yr Treasury note auction are at 1:00 ET.