Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.4%) and Nasdaq Composite (+1.3%) closed near their highs of the day, propelled by gains in mega cap and semiconductor-related names. The overall vibe in the market was negative, though. Declining issues had a roughly 3-to-2 lead over advancing issues at both the NYSE and at the Nasdaq. 

Meanwhile, the equal-weighted S&P 500 logged a 0.7% decline, the Dow Jones Industrial Average registered a 0.8% loss, and the Russell 2000 settled 0.4% lower. The downside moves were relatively modest thanks to support from NVIDIA (NVDA 126.09, +7.98, +6.8%), which rallied after solid losses in recent sessions, and other mega cap names. 

Carnival (CCL 17.82, +1.43, +8.7%) was the top performer in the S&P 500 after reporting better than expected earnings and revenue, along with above-consensus guidance.

Other cruise line stocks closed higher in sympathy. Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH 18.29, +0.89, +5.1%) and Royal Caribbean (RCL 160.73, +6.21, +4.0%) were also among the top performing stocks in the S&P 500.

Meanwhile, Pool (POOL 310.74, -27.17, -8.0%) showed the largest decline among S&P 500 stocks after cutting FY24 guidance.

Eight of the S&P 500 sectors logged declines while the heavily-weighted information technology (+1.8%) and communication services (+1.9%) sectors led the outperformers, supported by gains in mega cap components.

The market was also reacting to the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for June, which slipped to 100.4 from 101.3 in May as expectations for future income weakened. Treasuries didn't moved much in response to the data, settling little changed from yesterday. The 2-yr note yield was unchanged from Monday at 4.73% and the 10-yr note yield fell one basis point to 4.24%. 

The Treasury market was also digesting today's $69 billion 2-yr note sale, which met solid demand. 

• Nasdaq Composite: +18.0% YTD
• S&P 500:+14.7% YTD
• S&P Midcap 400: +5.0% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: +3.8% YTD
• Russell 2000: -0.2% YTD

Reviewing today's economic data:

• April FHFA Housing Price Index 0.2%; Prior 0.1%
• April S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index 7.2% (Briefing.com consensus 6.9%); Prior was revised to 7.5% from 7.4%
• June Consumer Confidence 100.4 (Briefing.com consensus 100.0); Prior was revised to 101.3 from 102.0
  • The key takeaway from the report is that expectations for future income weakened. If that perception builds and/or is realized, then it is apt to detract from discretionary spending activity.

Looking ahead, market participants will receive the following data on Wednesday:

• 7:00 ET: Weekly MBA Mortgage Index (prior 0.9%)
• 10:00 ET: May New Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 650,000; prior 634,000)
• 10:30 ET: Weekly crude oil inventories (prior -2.55 mln)