Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.15%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.14%) moved above their prior closing levels over the last half hour. The Russell 2000 outperforms, trading 0.4% higher. 

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.

Treasuries didn't react much to the data. The 10-yr yield is down nine basis points to 4.27% and the 2-yr yield is down six basis points to 4.14%.